How Do I Loathe Thee?
by Ultrawoman
Summary: AUFantasy AllHuman. Joyce Summers is harsh on her daughters when it comes to dating. Dawn desperately wants to date, but she can’t unless someone daring enough can be found to ask out her tempestuous sister, Buffy...
1. This Is Sunnydale High

**A/N : I have had this idea in my head for a seriously long time, but just never got around to writing it. I have seen several attempts by other authors to write a BtVS version of 10 Things I Hate About You, but none of them went exactly how I wanted them too. Solution? I had to write my own version, so here it is. A BtVS/AtS AU Fantasy All Human Spuffy version of one of my favourite movies! Hope you all like it!**

**Title : How Do I Loathe Thee?**

**Rating : PG-13**

**Summary : Having had a couple of bad experiences with men in the past, Joyce Summers is harsh on her daughters when it comes to dating. Dawn desperately wants to date, but she can't unless someone daring enough can be found to ask out her tempestuous sister, Buffy...**

**Disclaimer : Characters all belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The basic plot line is from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, based on the Shakespeare play Taming of the Shrew. I own nothing of any interest to anyone.**

Chapter 1 - This Is Sunnydale High

"Another year, another boredom-fest" Buffy sighed as she walked through the doors of Sunnydale High School, her books hugged to her chest.

"Yeah but _Senior_ year" her friend reminded her as she strutted along beside her in her trademark black and revealing attire, "it has to be better than the previous, right?"

"Same building, same narrow-minded teachers, same ass-holes running around the halls" the blonde listed as a pair of idiots chased each other almost knocking them over as they reached their lockers, "What's different about this year?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"See, that's what I love about you, B" her friend smiled sarcastically, "Your optimism"

"Give me something to look forward to Faith and I'll do it" she assured her friend, "but right now, I'm not seeing anything impressive" Buffy declared, slamming her locker door shut as the bell rang for first class.

"Then open your eyes" Faith told her, hitting her across the shoulder to get her attention on the guy that was hovering at the Principal's door.

Buffy glanced across at the man who had caught Faith's attention, not expecting to be impressed, after all as good friends as they were the two of them really didn't have the same taste in men. This guy was a shining example of Faith's type and not Buffy's, all black leather and bleached blond hair so bright it could blind the average person.

"Come on" Buffy rolled her eyes as she tugged on her friends sleeve, "We should be in Biology by now"

"Think he needs a study buddy?" Faith said with a suggestive look as they walked away. Buffy just laughed.

"Mr Jackson" Principal Wood sighed as the boy strolled into his office without a care.

"It's Spike" the bleached blond told him as he took a seat and made to prop his feet up on the desk, spotting Wood's scathing look he changed his mind.

"Right, Spike" the Principal nodded, opening up the file on his desk, "For a guy who seems to have a love for black, it's quite a colourful record you've got here" he commented, noting the younger man's jeans, boots, T-shirt, and leather coat all in the same non-colour. If he didn't know better he'd say he was wearing black eye-liner too.

"What can I say?" Spike smirked, picking at his black nail polish, "I'm just not a big fan of High School, and it's not a huge fan of mine"

"Doesn't have to be that way, Spike" Principal Wood shook his head, "Before your so-called rebellion, seems to me you had the makings of a good student" he said, studying the pages in front of him, "Decent grade point average, good attendance, that's the type of student we want here at Sunnydale High, kind of guy who's life will go somewhere after graduation, somewhere other than down the nearest drain"

Spike rolled his eyes, clearly bored and uninterested.

"You know how many times I've heard this speech?" he sighed, "How many schools, how many principals, all with the same yawn-inducing lecture?"

"No, Spike, this isn't like all those other lectures" Robin said smartly, getting up from his seat and coming to sit on the edge of the desk in front of Spike, "See, this time it's different. This time you're going to listen" he said firmly, almost threatening the boy, "I will not tolerate fighting, vandalism, tardiness, absence, none of things you're famous for" he told him, "but I'm not big with the expelling either. I have more interesting ways to make your life difficult" he said with a hint of a smile, "What do you say?"

"Well" Spike considered, getting up from his seat when the bell rung, "I do love a challenge" he smirked, "But I really think I should be getting to my first class now" he told the dumb-founded principal, pulling a map of the building from inside his coat, "Seems they don't like tardiness here, strict punishments for all y'know" he was laughing as he swung out of the office and Principal Wood slammed his fist into the desk out of pure frustration.

He'd known that boy was going to be trouble when he'd met him and his Uncle, the only relative the boy had left who could stand to be around him. The last thing Robin Wood needed was another bad influence on the easily led populace of Sunnydale High. He was seriously starting to wonder why he ever took this job here.

"Er, hi?" a nervous little voice said from the door, "I was looking for Principal Wood? I'm new here"

"Oh of course, our other new student" the teacher smiled, thanking his lucky stars that at least this guy should be easily dealt with. He was smart, well dressed, and according to his paperwork pretty much a geek, but at least he wouldn't be pulling any fire alarms or smoking behind the gym, and for that Principal Wood was grateful.

"Take a seat, Andrew" he told the boy who did just that, wondering what life was going to be like in this new school. He had a short discussion with the Principal about his classes and such, before a tap in the door signalled another student wanted in.

"Hey, Principal Wood" a goofy looking brunette boy grinned as he stumbled through the door, the skateboard attached to his backpack banging against the wall and chipping the paintwork.

"Xander Harris" Principal Wood greeted, "What can I do for you?"

"No, sir, it's what can I do for you?" Xander smiled, "I had a free period this morning and Miss Calendar said you needed someone to show a couple of new kids around?"

"Ah" Robin nodded, "It's actually just one new student, the other... well, he seems to think he can find his own way" he sighed, "Andrew Wells, Xander Harris" he introduced the two young men, "Andrew, Xander will be your guide to Sunnydale High"

"Cool" the shorter guy smiled. Xander looked a lot friendlier than the bleached blond who'd nearly bowled him over in the hall moments before. He had seemed to be coming out of the Principals office, so there was every possibility he was the other new student who apparently needed no assistance in finding his way around, Andrew realised, as Xander began the guided tour of the school. He pointed out all the important areas like the cafeteria, the pool, and so on, but nothing caught Andrew's attention quite like the sight of one particular student.

"Wow" he gasped, stopping walking right in the middle of the quad as a girl with long brunette hair and beautiful blue eyes breezed past, almost in slow motion.

"Oh no" Xander shook his head violently as he swung round his new friend and stood in front of him, holding him by the shoulders, "No, don't look at that, you'll go blind" he advised.

"She is so pretty" Andrew said dreamily, continuing to stare, "She's like, even more hot than Princess Leia in the gold bikini" he declared and Xander was side-tracked momentarily by that image before he snapped back to the problem at hand.

"Andrew, it's pointless okay?" he explained, finally getting the boy's attention as his apparent dream girl went out of view, "See, that's Dawn Summers" Xander told him, "Her Mom is way, way strict about either of her daughters dating"

"How strict?" Andrew checked and Xander shook his head sadly.

"Like, no dating til they graduate, kind of strict" he told him, "Believe me if there was a way to get around that rule I so would've, although not with Dawn" he quickly explained, "Her sister, Buffy, she was... well, she still kinda is totally gorgeous" he said in a kind of day dream for a moment, "but these days, totally wacko to go along with. It's like one day she just decided she was gonna be angry. Permanently"

* * *

"I'm just saying maybe we should look at it from another angle!" Buffy half-yelled in annoyance at her history teacher who really was not listening to what she had to say.

"Miss Summers, I can assure you there is near consensus in the academic community regarding the death of Rasputin" the man sighed, thoroughly bored of her outburst and it was only the first class of the first day. She'd been just as bad last year with her wild speculations on just about every fact he tried to teach the class.

"But there are reported sightings of him as late as the 1930s" she continued on, "And like the history books are really so accurate!" she scoffed, "There was also a near consensus about Columbus, y'know, until someone asked the Vikings what they were up to in the 1400s, and they're like, 'discovering this America-shaped continent'"

"Oh, please" the boy two desks to her left began to laugh, "Give it up, Blondie, you're not the professor here, and nobody cares what you think"

"Like anybody wants your opinion either, Angelus!" she spat back at him.

It was strange to think they'd dated once and even appeared to be in love. Something changed a couple of years back, and suddenly Liam Angelus, known to most as Angel, and Buffy Summers, despised each other and spent the better part of their school days arguing.

"Oh no, no, no, not the Punch and Judy show again" the teacher said firmly standing between their desks, "You two can pipe down or you can get out of my classroom"

"Sure thing, sir" Angel feigned innocence, "I'm strictly here to learn"

"Oh right" Buffy snorted, rolling her eyes, "I guess you need some more special skills for your resume, to go with wannabe-model and royal pain the ass!" she shot at him, the teacher heard that but didn't see Angel give his ex the finger, making her even more mad.

"Oh, you are so going down..." she said in a low voice as she made to get up from her seat. The teacher was at her side in a second and telling herin no uncertain terms that her behaviour was inappropriate and that she should get her butt to the Principals office, right now.

* * *

The bell rang for the end of the school day, but Buffy wouldn't be going anywhere for at least another hour. The Principal had not been thrilled to hear about her terrorising her history class, and despite the fact Buffy had pointed out that neither expressing her opinion or defending herself were terrorist actions, Principal Wood had still insisted she attend an hours detention after school.

She was walking across the courtyard to serve her time, meeting up with Faith half way since she too had landed herself a short stay in detentions-ville for threatening her new lab partner with either a scalpel or a bottle of acid, no-one was certain which rumour was true yet.

"You flipped at Angel again, huh?" Faith guessed and Buffy frowned slightly.

"Am I becoming predictable?" she asked, looking worried it might be true. Faith was about to answer when she spotted something more important than annoying her friend.

"Nah, not you, B" she assured the blonde, "but somebody else we both know and loathe never changes" she sneered, pointing to the scene she was referring to.

Buffy looked daggers at her ex across the quad as Angel drove his car right up next to her sister Dawn. To his credit, it wasn't Liam Angelus who was interested in the young brunette, but obviously his brother Connor, who sat in the passenger seat. Still Buffy was not amused and was seconds away from storming over there to put the Angelus boys in there place, but she didn't get the chance.

"Miss Summers, Miss Lehane" Principal Wood said as he approached them, "Don't you two have somewhere you ought to be right now?"

"Well that all depends how generous you're feeling, sir" Faith said suggestively, fluttering her eyelashes, "One word from you and we could be doing something way more interesting than detention" she told him, leaning in close. Buffy rolled her eyes and glanced away in disgust. Sometimes she really didn't understand Faith at all, and her apparent crush on the Principal was one thing Buffy was sure she'd never get.

* * *

"Hey Dawn" Connor smiled widely at the girl who blushed under his gaze.

Connor Angelus was like the hottest guy in her grade and he had chosen to talk to her, she didn't know which way to turn.

"Hi" she said shyly, catching the eye of her friend Janice and causing them both to giggle nervously.

"Just wanted to say, y'know you look great today" Connor told her, looking a little nervous himself, a fact that made his older brother almost gag in the drivers seat, "I.. I was wondering..."

"For God sake" Angel interrupted, "I can't stand this much longer" he snapped, leaning over Connor to address the two girls, "What my idiot brother was trying to say" he explained, propping his sunglasses up on top of his head, "Is do you two beautiful ladies wanna ride home?" he asked with a smile.

"Totally" Dawn gasped, so thrilled to be asked and stunned at the same time.

She and Janice had no idea just how many pairs of eyes were watching as they climbed into the back of the red convertible, the most important of which were perhaps her sister who looked far from pleased, and another who she'd yet to meet.

"I'm so in love" Andrew sighed as he watched Angel's car speed away with the girl of his dreams in the back.

"Give it up, man" Xander told him, slapping him on the back, not noticing how the smaller boy winced, "She is so out of bounds it's untrue"

Andrew stared after the car and looked determined.

"I will find a way to be with her" he swore, "I believe the force is with me"

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N2 : Reviews would be very much appreciated at this juncture. Also, feel free to discuss this or any of my other fics with me or each other on the forum I set up, link is on my profile page!**


	2. New Rules

**A/N : Wow, the response to this fic is amazing! 27 reviews on just the first chapter? I am so grateful to you all for taking the time to let me know how much you like this story, or rather the idea of it since it's barely even begun! Seems '10 Things...' is a popular movie. I hope I can do it justice, without copying too much. Here's the next chapter...  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 2 - New Rules

When Buffy got home from school and entered the house through the back door she found her mother sitting at the kitchen counter, surrounded by papers and boxes with the phone jammed to her ear, as she discussed some shipment of pre-Columbian something-or-other for the gallery she ran. She spared her eldest daughter a glance and a slight wave as Buffy got herself a glass of juice and an apple and sat herself on the edge of the opposite counter by the sink. In was a good ten minutes before Joyce had finished her discussion on the phone and actually spoke to Buffy, and she didn't exactly speak in a friendly tone when she did.

"What did you do?" she asked accusingly and her daughter rolled her eyes as she chewed on the piece of apple in her mouth, "You're over an hour behind your sister. She told me you had detention, Buffy"

"If she already told you what happened, then why are you asking me what I did?" Buffy sighed, hopping down from the counter and throwing the remains of her apple in the trash - she didn't feel hungry anymore.

"Buffy!" Joyce called as she chased her out of the kitchen and through to the living room where Dawn was on the couch watching TV, "Buffy, why do you always have to be this way?" her mother asked her.

"What way am I supposed to be Mom?" she shot back, "You brought us up telling us to be strong, to stand up for what we believe in, and not to be afraid to have opinions. I gave mine and I got sent to detention for it, that's all" she explained overly loudly.

"You so did not!" Dawn exclaimed, standing up, "Angel told us you threatened him, that's what landed you in detention" she said smartly, looking at Joyce, "She argued with the Principal too"

"Dawn!" Buffy gasped. Her sister was such a tell-tale these days, but it stood to reason she'd stand up for her precious Connor's brother in all this.

"Girls, that is enough!" Joyce snapped at them both.

"No, Mom, it really isn't" Buffy shook her head, "If she's going to get the chance to tell on me, I want to return the favour" she said, giving her sister a look, "Why don't you ask Dawnie who drove her home today?"

Joyce's eyes went wide as she looked from her eldest daughter to the younger of the two.

"Somebody drove you home?" she asked incredulously, "A _boy_ drove you home?" she guessed.

Dawn looked daggers at Buffy, before glancing back at her mother and smiling sweetly.

"Mom, don't freak out" she said carefully, "It was actually two boys" she admitted, "but Janice was there too, and we were safe and... they're nice guys"

"Huh!" Buffy made a little noise of disbelief, "Nice guys?" she scoffed, "Mom, we're talking about the Angelus boys, not exactly saints"

"Just cos you got dumped by Angel!" Dawn yelled at her, "Connor is sweet and gorgeous and he likes me"

"You have no idea what he's like!" Buffy yelled back, the next thing she said drowned out by her sister shouting back at her until neither of them could be properly heard for the din the other was making. Joyce could feel her 'two teenage daughters in the house' headache settling in for the night and she really didn't have time for it. She still had a shipment to organise for the gallery and a whole pile of inventory to go through.

"Girls, enough!" she bellowed, as she came to stand between them. They fell silent in a second but stood like book ends, both with their arms folded over their chests as they glared at each other.

"Now, Buffy" she said turning to the older girl first, "As much as I agree on you giving your opinions, I think you should find a less troublesome way to do it" she said, quickly turning to Dawn and carrying on speaking before either of them had a chance to answer back, "and Dawnie, there will be no more riding in cars with boys, understood?"

"But Mom!" the sixteen year old whined, "Please, it was just a ride, and Connor's so nice, I really think he might ask me to..."

"Dawn, I know exactly what he's likely to ask you" she said firmly, "Boys his age, well, to be honest, men of any age, most of their brain activity revolves around girls and women and... things you're far too young to be thinking about yet" she told her.

"Did everyone forget?" she asked incredulously, "I'm sixteen years old, I'm not a baby"

"And that's exactly what I said at your age, honey" Joyce reminded her, "And it was true. I wasn't a baby, I had one instead"

Buffy looked at the floor and then up again. As stupid as it was she sometimes felt terribly guilty for ruining her mother's life or something, despite the fact she hadn't exactly chosen to be born.

Her parents had been high school sweethearts and seemingly so in love, until Joyce realised she was pregnant at age sixteen. By the time Buffy was born she was seventeen, but without a boyfriend or even many friends anymore. It wasn't easy, and though her parents tried to help her out, Joyce knew they were always ashamed of her for what had happened.

Buffy was a year old when her mother fell for a second man. His name was Hank and his father ran the store next to the gallery where Joyce did some part-time work back then. It didn't seem to bother Hank when he found out Joyce had a baby, he was astonished by how strong she was and how well she'd coped.

Within a few months they were professing love for each other and shortly after Joyce found herself left holding the baby all over again as Dawn came into the world. Hank actually stuck around for a while and did his best to support his girlfriend and the kids, but the burden of family life at such a young age was too much for him and he left Joyce for a simpler life with another woman. It had been twelve years since then and she hadn't heard from him once.

"I'm just trying to protect you sweetie" Joyce told Dawn, who looked close to tears, "I worry about you"

"I know" she sniffed, "but you don't understand" she cried desperately, "I'm the only girl in the whole entire school who doesn't date"

"Well that certainly isn't true" Joyce told her with a look, "Buffy doesn't date either... do you?" she said, glancing at her other daughter an giving her a look. There were many a thing she was sure Buffy got up to that she didn't know about but she'd hate to think boys were involved in any of it.

"A whole world of no" the blonde said firmly, "And I don't intend to any time soon" she swore, "Not after the argument we got into over Angel" she muttered.

"But it doesn't bother her" Dawn argued, "She's like the bitch monster from hell or something, nobody would date her anyway!"

Joyce sighed as the two girls started at each other again, she really couldn't take much more of this.

"Fine!" she snapped, silencing the two girls as they wondered what she was saying was fine, "You two don't like the rule on dating, we'll change it"

Dawn smiled triumphantly as Buffy's eye widened in panic. Of all people she did not want her sister to be dating, Connor Angelus was right up there at the top of the list!

"Dawn can date" Joyce said evenly, a small smile playing round her lips as she finished her sentence, "When Buffy does" she said smoothly, turning and walking back to the kitchen. She was half way there before either of her girls had a vocal reaction to her decision.

"But Mom!" Dawn whined, "That's impossible! Buffy can't get a date, even if she wanted one!" she complained.

"And I don't" Buffy grinned as she made for the stairs and went up to he room grinning. So long as she didn't let a guy near her, Dawnie couldn't get into any bad situations with Connor or any other unsuitable boys, which was pretty much the only types of males that existed at Sunnydale High. It wasn't even going to take any effort on Buffy's part at all. There was not one guy at the school or anywhere else in town that she would consider dating.

* * *

The door of the apartment opened and then slammed shut again with an almighty crash.

"William, is that you?" Giles called from the living room and Spike rolled his eyes.

"No, it's bleedin' Father Christmas" he smirked as he poked his head round the door, "Who'd you bloody think it was with a key and all?"

"I'll thank you to moderate your tone and language when you speak to me young man" his uncle snapped, "You're not to old to be put across my knee, you know"

Spike scoffed at that.

"Like to see you soddin' try it" he muttered as he pushed through to the kitchen and turned half the room upside down as he tried to find something he wanted to eat. With a packet of cookies in one hand and a bottle of beer stashed inside his coat he pushed back through the living room and slammed into his bedroom, before Giles had a chance to say anything else.

With a deep sigh the older man sunk back into his arm chair and put his head in his hands. Why he'd ever agreed to be the guardian of his sister's son for the next twelve months he had no clue. Anne was a kindly woman, too nice for her own good really, hence the fact she had managed to have apparent serious relationships with no less than nine men in the past nineteen years, the second of which had actually been William's father. This latest break up had been nobody's fault and in fact Giles thought his dear sister might finally have found a man worthy of her affections. Then tragedy had struck and the poor man was killed by a stray bullet in a bungled bank raid. Anne was in pieces and Spike's bad behaviour only escalated when the slight good influence in his life wavered.

Giles had offered to do anything he could, never expecting his sister would send her son to live with him for at least the next year whilst he completed High School and graduated. The first day he'd moved in William had spoken just enough to tell his Uncle he was not happy at being shipped over here and that his name was no longer William but Spike. Giles abhorred the nickname he thought better fit a common criminal than any nephew of his and would not use it no matter how many times the boy insisted.

Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols was soon blasting from the bleached blond's bedroom and Giles covered his ears with his hands. Why his nephew had such a love for the punk band and their off-puttingly titled album 'Never Mind the Bollocks...' he really had no idea and honestly did no dare to ask. Still this was the twenty-seventh time he'd been forced to hear the record and they'd only shared a living space for the past two weeks.

"Something has to change" Giles sighed as he tried in vain to concentrate on reading his book, hoping against hope that something, anything might inspire a change in his nephew before the boy drove him completely insane.

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N2 : I know there is no Spuffy yet, but I have to set everything up first. Hope you all still like this :-)**


	3. Extreme Dating

**A/N : Anyone who has seen the movie '10 Things...' will know the real Spuffyness of this fic will be a little while coming. I have a little more setting up to do before there are more Spike/Buffy scenes but I hope you all stick with the story til then. So far the response is so great, and I'm really glad everyone seems to like this so much.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 3 - Extreme Dating

"So if x is... No, y can be calculated by... Oh God, I hate this!" Dawn complained frustratedly throwing her pencil down and putting her head in her hands.

She wasn't exactly deficient when it came to school work, but Math was not her strong point, most especially algebra. It was only the third day back at school and already her homework was driving her crazy!

"Er, hey" said a voice and Dawn glanced up to see a shy looking boy smiling and waving slightly at her, "Can I maybe sit here?" he asked nervously, gesturing to the seat across from her.

"Depends" Dawn said seriously, "You know anything about algebra?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah" he enthused, "You want some help?" he offered thrilled when she nodded and pulled out the chair beside herself, hoping he'd take it.

"I'm Dawn by the way" she introduced herself as he took the offered chair.

"I know" he smiled, causing her to do the same, clearly he'd noticed her, "Oh, and I'm Andrew" he said suddenly, realising he hadn't said that yet.

"Okay, Andrew" Dawn nodded, "What do you know about simultaneous equations?" she sighed, as she pushed the book across the table at him. He glanced at the letters and figures on the page before beginning to explain.

Within a half hour Dawn was understanding and getting each and every problem right first time.

"Wow, that's incredible" Dawn almost laughed, "I mean, last year, I barely scraped a pass in Math, and now... You made it so easy, fun even" she smiled.

"Math is fun" Andrew grinned, "And it's all around us, important to everything" he pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess" Dawn shrugged, not really bothered about anything else this guy had to say. He'd helped her get her homework done, that was all the mattered, now he was superfluous to requirements.

"So if you ever need any more help" he said as she put her books away in her bag, "I'm totally here for you"

"That'd be great" Dawn smiled, realising this could be a regular deal, this guy helping her out when algebra got a little too rough. Hell she could probably even get him to do the work for her if she tried, though she probably wouldn't be quite that dishonest.

She was out of her seat and ready to walk away when Andrew spoke again.

"Now I helped you with your homework" he said hopefully, "Does that mean you're free tonight?"

"Does it...? Oh" Dawn said suddenly realising what this guy actually meant. He wanted to date her, well, that wasn't so weird, several guys did, but the only one that really mattered to her was Connor, and even that was a pointless situation due to her mother's new dating rule.

"Andrew, that's very sweet but..." she began only to be interrupted.

"I know your Mom has real strict dating rules and all" he told her, "but I was thinking maybe if we called it a study date, for the Math, maybe we could still, y'know go out?" he suggested, looking so painfully hopeful that Dawn almost felt bad for him.

"Actually, the rules changed, but not enough to make a difference" she said grumpily, "I can date, but only if my sister does"

"Ah, the tempestuous Buffy" Andrew nodded knowingly, "She is a little difficult, I have seen"

"A little difficult?" Dawn scoffed, "It's like one day she was Little Miss Popularity" she sighed as she took her seat once again and explained, "And then the next thing you know she's hanging with Faith, bitching at Angel... she just changed so much" she said sadly, not just upset by the fact her sister no longer got along with people in school, but because she barely gave her the time of day anymore either. They'd been so close as kids but the last couple of years things had just been different, and not in a good way.

"I know your sister is kinda extreme" Andrew nodded, "but I'll bet I could find a guy to date her" he said with a smile, glad when Dawn started to grin too.

"You could find a guy for Buffy so I could actually get a date?" she asked hopefully, "You'd really do that for me?"

"Well, duh!" Andrew rolled his eyes, "I would fight Darth Vader light-sabre-less for you" he admitted in earnest, at which Dawn made a face.

"That's... sweet, I think" she said awkwardly, backing away a little.

This guy was cute enough but a little weird. Still Dawn was willing to make nice if he was prepared to help her out with her problem. If he really could find someone stupid enough to want to date Buffy, she might actually get a chance to go out with Connor Angelus, and that would be a dream come true.

* * *

"I cannot believe you agreed to that" Xander laughed as Andrew told him of his agreement with Dawn, "You actually think you can find a guy that would take Buffy Summers out on a date?" he chuckled, "And even if you could you really think she'd say yes? Man, you're weird" he said, shaking his head as he dug in his locker for the book he needed.

"I have to do this, Xand" Andrew sighed, "Dawn is... she's just so perfect, I have to make her mine, and this is the only way"

"Andrew" Xander sighed as he slammed his locker shut, his book found, "No woman is perfect, and even if she were, you're talking about doing the impossible here. Nobody likes Buffy enough to dare to ask her out"

"You told me you did once" Andrew reminded him, "Like her that much, I mean"

"Yeah, once" Xander agreed, "But that was years ago, like Freshman year, before she went psycho. Now... there is no way I would ever, ever..." he paused as he looked across the hall and saw Buffy standing there with Faith in her short skirt and knee high boots, tipping her head back as she laughed at a joke, making her gold hair flow around her shoulders, "Yeah okay so she's still gorgeous" Xander sighed, "And if I wasn't such a coward I would ask her out but, there is no way, absolutely no way..."

"Please, Xander" Andrew begged, "I can't ask anybody else" he told him, "I barely know anybody else, and she might even say yes"

As he stared at the girl he used to adore, Xander actually considered doing it. It'd be perfect if she said yes, and there really was no reason why she shouldn't, she'd probably be grateful to date anyone since her mother's ban had prevented it for so long. Besides, he liked the idea of annoying Faith.

Back in Freshman year, before she and Buffy had gotten to be friends, she was a major predator and had played most of the boys in school. One night after overhearing a conversation between Buffy and Xander, one of his feeble attempts at getting the blonde's attention, Faith had swooped in to get herself some fun. She used the boy terribly for one night of passion, the first he'd ever had with anybody, before discarding him and really never speaking to him again.

"Oh you will pay for that" he said to himself, "When Buffy dates me, you'll feel so stupid" he muttered as he strode across the hall, "Hi" he said, tapping Buffy on the shoulder to get her attention.

"What do you want?" she asked, rolling her eyes. She thought this guy had given up his crush on her years ago.

"Hey, I, er... I heard this rumour" he laughed nervously, "That your Mom made a new rule, that you can date now, and I was, well, I was wondering..."

Xander got no further as Faith bust up laughing and drowned out his stuttered words.

"Oh, no way" she choked as she tried to speak through her chuckling, "You seriously think B's gonna go out with you?" she checked, which caused Buffy to laugh a little too.

"Sorry, Xand" she said, slapping him on the shoulder as she walked away, "Not if you were the last man alive" she smirked, as Faith followed her down the hall, still laughing.

"That didn't go so well, huh?" Andrew said nervously as he came over to Xander. The taller boy gave him a look that said it all, "Sorry?" he offered and the brunette shook his head.

"It's not your fault, not really" he sighed as they walked down the hall and through the doors to outside, "I should've known better than to think Buffy would want to date me out of every guy here"

"There must be someone she'd want to go out with" Andrew said, looking around, "I promised Dawn I'd find someone"

"Andrew, even if you could find someone she'd actually say yes to" Xander told the boy, "He'd have to be some guy. We're talking complete lack of fear"

"Like him?" Andrew grinned as he gestured towards a guy across the way, wearing a black leather coat. He sat on the back of the bench with his Doc Martens planted firmly on the seat, a cigarette in one hand and a book in the other.

"Are you kidding me?" Xander choked, "That guy?" he gasped.

"He looks tough enough for Buffy" Andrew shrugged.

"Yeah, but didn't you hear the rumours?" his friend asked, "They say he got kicked out of his last school for burning down the gym, and the one before that for stabbing the horticultural teacher with pruning shears!" he explained, "The guy is all five acidy flavours of bad to the bone"

"We said we needed someone extreme to date Buffy" Andrew reminded him, "and there isn't anybody else"

With a deep breath he made to walk towards the bleached blond but his friend pulled him back.

"No, not Spike Jackson" he said firmly, "You just can't ask him to date Buffy, he... y'know what they say that book is?" he asked Andrew who shook his head, "Some say it's like the bible of the devil, some others say he's reading up on how best to kill us all. He's a complete psycho, man"

"Everybody has a little good in them, Xander" his friend told him wisely, "You shouldn't judge books by their covers"

Before his friend could answer, Andrew was crossing the ground towards Spike who didn't appear to notice his approach, despite the fact he'd sensed him coming from several yards away.

"Er, hi" the boy said nervously, and Spike glanced up at him, "So, yeah, I was wondering..." his sentence disappeared into a cough as cigarette smoke was blown into his face.

"Piss off, runt" Spike snapped, closing his book with a snap too close to Andew's nose.

By the time the boy had stopped coughing up a lung and could see through his watery eyes, Spike was walking away, black leather coat swooshing around his legs as he went.

"Oh yeah" Xander said as he came over to Andrew and slapped him on the back, "That went real well"

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N2 : Apologies that this chapter is so short. More coming soon!**


	4. Angels and Devils

**A/N : Despite the fact the Spuffy love is quite a way off, the first meeting of Spike and Buffy is right here in this chapter for your reading pleasure.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

**  
**Chapter 4 - Angels and Devils

"I still say he's the best guy to date Buffy" Andrew argued as he and Xander walked down the hall together. Just yesterday they had tried asking the said new guy named Spike if he would ask out the elder Miss Summers so that Andrew himself could date Dawnie. Unfortunately, the boy had barely got past hello when he received a face full of cigarette smoke, and Spike pulled a disappearing act, clearly not impressed by being talked to by such an apparent geek.

"He won't even talk to you" Xander pointed out, "What makes you think he'd ever do you a favour?"

"I don't know" Andrew sighed, before suddenly having a brainwave and bouncing on his toes in a very unmanly fashion, "Ooh, we could pay him. Guys like him need money right? For cigarettes and alcohol and stuff?"

"He probably just steals" Xander shrugged, "but I guess if you offered him enough he might do it. I doubt he's the type to turn down a challenge or whatever" he considered, "Problem is, we don't have any money" he said as they sat down at a table at the back of the library, "We're screwed"

"You okay, Xander?" asked a red-haired girl as she came into view from behind a bookcase.

Willow had caught the tail end of the conversation between the two guys and spotted the sullen look on their faces. Xander had been a good friend of hers when they were kids, but peer pressure had pushed them apart some since Willow admitted she was gay and started dating fellow student Tara. They still talked from time to time though, and Willow wouldn't like to think anything bad was happening in Xander's life.

"Hey Will" he forced a smile, "My friend Andrew here is having a dilemma" he explained.

"What kind of dilemma?" she asked, taking a seat across from them, "Is it a homework thing, cos maybe I could help?" she offered. She was always the brainy type.

"No, it's more of a... girl dilemma" Andrew admitted, though he was far too embarrassed to continue and Xander had to do it for him.

"He wants to date Dawn Summers, and her Mom made this new rule that says she can go out with guys now, but only if Buffy does"

"Oh" Willow's eyes went wide at that, "But she's not... I mean she does like boys, obviously" she amended what she was going to say, feeling the pain of an old injury then - Buffy hadn't been comfortable with Willow's sexuality and they'd gone from good friends to barely acknowledging each other's existence these days, "But she's not the dating type, is she?"

"And therein lies the problem" Xander nodded, "Or at least half of it. See there's this new guy, Spike Giles, and we think he and Buffy might make a match"

"'Cept he won't even talk to us nevermind do us a favour and I don't have the cash to pay him" Andrew sighed in defeat, as Angel and Connor walked passed the table, the older of the two telling the other to leave him alone for five seconds, and getting quite nasty when he protested.

"I noticed Connor talking to Dawn a lot lately" Willow commented, "I'm surprised it didn't occur to him to pay a guy to date Buffy, not that it's right that anyone should do that, it's very, very wrong, but..."

"Will you're a genius!" Xander yelled suddenly, and found himself being promptly shushed by various students as well as the librarian.

"I'm a genius, why now?" the red-head checked in a whisper, frowning a little. She wouldn't like to think she'd encouraged him to do anything immoral.

"The Angelus boys are loaded, they have way more cash than they need" Xander grinned, "And Connor so obviously wants to date Dawn. All we have to do is get them to pay Spike"

"You think that'll work?" Andrew asked hopefully and his friend nodded.

"Sure it will" he said certainly, "Also, Angel's like big tough guy, Spike won't be so quick to tell him where to shove himself... I hope"

"Oh, Xander, I don't think that's a good plan..." Willow began but it was too late, the guys were already on their feet and walking away, talking animatedly about the new plan, "Oops" was all the red-head could find to say.

* * *

"Hey, how's it going?" Xander asked with a grin as he sat down next to Angel in the cafeteria. The other guys at the table looked on in amusement.

"Are you lost, MonkeyBoy?" the larger of the two men asked and Xander laughed nervously.

"No, no, I just... I thought I could do you a favour is all" he shrugged, glad when Angel looked intrigued, "Cos I know what a drag it must be having to pretty much baby-sit your brother all the time"

"Be careful what you say about him, Harris" Angel said dangerously, "He's my family"

"Oh yeah, and what a great family you have" Xander agreed whole-heartedly, always very aware of how easily he could get his face smashed in if he said the wrong thing, "See, I was thinking, now the rules have changed at Casa de Summers, your brother has a chance of dating Dawnie, just so long as you can find a guy to take out her sister"

"You know a guy that could deal with Buffy?" Angel laughed, "Or would want to these days"

"That's my point" Xander nodded, "See the guy in the corner?" he said, gesturing vaguely to where Spike was sat with his feet propped up on the table, the famed plain covered book in one hand and a cigarette in the other, despite the fact three different members of staff had told him to put it out already.

"The new freak?" Angel asked, looking as if he might actually be interested in what Xander had to say.

"Uh-huh" he nodded, "I'm thinking you put a little cash his way, he might just do it"

"Maybe" Angel considered it, and Xander shot Andrew a secret signal of success before paying attention again, "What I'm not understanding is why you want to help me get Connor a date with Dawn" Angel asked suspiciously.

Xander's nervous laugh returned.

"Can't one guy just help out another guy?" he asked, and the look in the other man's eyes told him he wasn't buying it, "Okay so maybe I was looking for a small amount of payback" Xander sighed, "You're cool and stuff, I know I'm not, so maybe if I see you in the halls and I say hi, you say hi back" he suggested.

"And you're cool by association" Angel smirked, "I guess that works" he agreed as he looked over at where Spike was being dragged out of the cafeteria by the Principal. He was a bad-ass alright, and a good match for Buffy these days. Angel would pay quite a bit to get Connor out of his way for a while, and if the little blonde he used to care for got screwed over by Spike in the process, that'd just be a bonus.

* * *

"Hey, BleachBoy" Angel called as the various miscreants of Sunnydale High piled out of detention. He'd hung around on purpose after school to meet Spike, and hopefully convince him by way of monetary gain to date Buffy Summers.

"You talking to me, nancy boy?" Spike asked as he turned and looked at Angel with an eyebrow raised. The hall around them emptied til it was just the two of them and Angel looked daggers at the bleached blond with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Watch your tone, _Spike_" the brunette said dangerously, "I'm here to make you a deal"

"A deal?" Spike asked, semi-intrigued now, "What kind of deal?" he asked.

"Let's walk" Angel told him, striding down the hall. Spike was wary at first but soon followed, finding himself stopping behind the Great Git outside the first floor gym. Peering through the glass he saw a group of girls practising what first appeared to be aerobics of some sort, until of course they turned on each other. Some kind of martial arts, possibly a self defence class was taking place and some of these women knew their stuff, Spike realised, wincing as one blonde girl smashed another face first into the mat with very little effort.

"See the blonde with the almost scary strength" Angel smirked, "That's Buffy Summers" he told Spike, "And I want you to go out with her"

Spike snorted at that as he dug in his packet of fags.

"Yeah, that's really going to happen, mate" he chuckled, lighting himself a cigarette, "Why exactly do you think I'd date a girl like that just cos you say so?"

"Because I'm willing to pay you" came Angel's swift answer, "Fifty bucks a date"

Spike stared at the other man, head tilted as he did so, before he glanced back through the glass panel of the door at the gorgeous but obviously crazy blonde they were discussing.

"Say I agreed to this?" he said, still watching her as he spoke to Angel, "What's in it for you?" he wanted to know.

"Her Mom has rules about her baby girls dating" he rolled his eyes, "Dawn, she's a sophomore, and my brother's into her, but she can't date unless someone takes out Buffy" Angel explained, "I'd do it myself but we have history and I can do without a repeat" he said cryptically, but Spike was paying little attention to the git's rambling anyway.

"You must love your brother" he commented, smirking around his cigarette, "To be shelling out all this cash for the sake of a couple of dates"

"He's had a rough time" Angel shrugged, "Nobody pays him much attention and he hangs around me all the damn time" he explained, an angry edge to his voice, "If I can get him dating Dawn, maybe I'll get a little peace and he'll learn to have more confidence or something" he sighed, "Anything to get him out of my way and out of trouble too"

Spike was only half listening as he watched Buffy whale on another girl, this time a brunette. They were more evenly matched than the earlier fight, but Blondie still won in the end. Spike liked her already, she was different to the other girls in this school, a challenge he could really sink his teeth into, and if he could get paid for his trouble as well...

"Reckon you got yourself a deal, mate" he smiled, holding his cigarette in his mouth as he shook Angel's hand.

Money exchanged hands and the brunette then walked away, leaving Spike to wait for Buffy to exit the gym. The after school club should be over at any moment, he thought, and was proved right as most of the girls dispersed, some of them eyeing him up as they came out the door. He paid little attention to them as he waited for Buffy, but she never came.

With a frown, Spike took another look through the glass panel in the door to see Miss Summers was still inside, practising her moves. She wasn't sticking to the things she'd been taught in class anymore and was getting overly gymnastic in her movements.

"Bloody hell" Spike said to himself as he stared, "That brings a whole new meaning to the phrase flexible friend" he smirked as she flipped over backwards with ease.

Spike decided it was good a time as any to make his entrance. He was applauding as he walked into the room, startling Buffy and making her turn sharply. She eyed the stranger suspiciously as he came towards her.

"Nice moves, luv" he told her, "Don't reckon you're a girl to be messed with"

"First of all I'm not a girl, I'm a woman" Buffy snapped, "And second, what kind of pervert are you?"

"Hey, I am not!" Spike denied it vehemently, "Was just looking is all, was impressed with how you handle yourself. Reckon more women should learn this stuff myself" he lied, hoping to be complimentary of her skills.

"You do?" Buffy asked, not really sure whether to believe him or not, he didn't exactly look like the trustworthy type.

"I do" he agreed, "'S not a safe world we live in" he continued as he circled around her where she stood, getting a good look at her, "Never know when some nasty bugger might jump out at you and try to take advantage"

"Nasty buggers, huh?" she echoed, "You mean guys like you?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Oh pet, now that hurts" Spike told her, putting his hand over his heart, "Wounded to the core, I am" he said with mock pain, "Reckon you'll have to come out with me Friday night to apologise now"

"Yeah, right" Buffy said sarcastically as she walked across the room to pick up her towel and bottle of water, before heading for the door, "Contemplate getting over yourself for two seconds" she called back to him, "and try not to ever talk to me again" she smiled sweetly as she exited the room and stalked off down the hall. He thought she was angry and sarcastic, which was what she'd intended, but the truth was she actually kind of respected him for daring to try it on with her.

'Not that I'd ever actually date him' she thought to herself as she went into the girls locker room, already knowing deep down that was an out and out lie.

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Crash and Burn

**A/N : Little more Spike/Buffy interaction for you in this one...  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 5 - Crash and Burn

Buffy slammed into the house and went straight upstairs to her room, not at all surprised to find her mother wasn't home yet. As she reached her bedroom door she found her sister in there and her face hardened.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped, perhaps more harshly than she needed to as she threw her gym bag on the floor and stalked over to where Dawn was rifling through a pile of clothing.

"You weren't here and I wanted to borrow your blue cashmere sweater" the younger girl admitted, "It's not like you wear colours these days anyway"

"That is so not the point!" Buffy snapped, pulling said item of clothing away from her sister, "You don't touch my stuff, okay?" she yelled, pushing her towards the door, "In fact, don't even come in my room unless I say so"

"God you are so unhinged!" Dawn snapped back, "I wanted to borrow a sweater is all, it's not like I wouldn't have given it back, hello, I'm your sister not a burglar" she said, sounding equal parts hurt and angry.

"I know that" Buffy replied, her tone softening just a little, "I just... I'm having a bad day is all" she admitted sitting down heavily on the end of her bed.

"You wanna talk?" Dawn asked awkwardly as she watched her older sister put her face in her hands, then run her fingers back through her hair as she glanced up.

"No" she shook her head eventually, "It's... you wouldn't understand"

"Maybe I would" Dawn tried again, hovering by the door, "If you never tell me stuff, you'll never know if I might understand" she pointed out.

"Do you remember your Dad?" Buffy said, not actually looking at her sister when she said it. It was unlikely Dawn had very many memories of her father, she'd been just four when he left and he'd barely been mentioned since.

"Not much" she admitted, coming further into the room and sitting beside Buffy, "It's all kinda vague"

"I don't remember mine at all" the blonde admitted, "I don't think he ever even saw me... He might have stayed with Mom if I..."

"If you hadn't been born?" Dawn guessed that was what she meant, "Buffy, you can't blame yourself for being born, that's insane" she told her sister, who focused on the floor and the walls, anything so she didn't have to face the person she was talking to.

"I know" she sighed, "I just... my mind wanders sometimes, I get thinking about the past and the ways things are, the way I am. It might have been different if my Dad had stayed, or even yours" she said softly, "Y'know it's exactly twelve years today that Hank left"

Dawn felt like she ought to have known that, he was her father after all, but then Buffy had been older and known him better. As ridiculous as it was she was almost jealous of her for that.

"Mom says we're better off without our fathers" the brunette sighed, "She thinks we're better off without guys altogether but, they're not all bad, right Buffy?" she checked.

The blonde shook her head slightly as her mind sped through all the men that had been a part of her life. It was a fairly short list but every single one had left, fathers, friends, boyfriends.

"I don't know, Dawnie" she admitted as she looked at her, pushing the younger girls hair back over her shoulder, "I'd like to think there are nice guys in the world but... I really don't know"

* * *

Spike wasn't one for taking threats to heart. Though he'd seen what Buffy could do in terms of smacking him down, her advice to leave her alone was swiftly ignored. He loved a challenge and Miss Summers was that alright, besides he was getting paid for this too, and there was no bad in that.

Unbeknownst to Buffy, Spike had followed a few steps behind as she'd come out of school, with the brunette girl he'd seen her spar with. They talked about some girl-band music they liked and compared the amount of damage they'd each caused to the other members of their after-school club as they headed out across the parking lot and climbed into a car.

"Bugger" Spike swore, knowing that he could easily keep up with them on his motorcycle but also that he was likely to get spotted and that he could do without right now. It wouldn't do for the girl to think he was a stalker or whatever, she had to like him well enough to date him after all or the money for Liam Angelus would stop abruptly. Spike did like the idea of bleeding the rich git dry, his type just loved themselves a little too much for his taste.

With his in-the-process-of-being-earned cash, Spike drove into town and parked his motorcycle outside the corner store. He was running short on cigarettes and hoped he might be able to charm some unsuspecting shop girl into selling him a bottle of Jack Daniel's finest too. He didn't need to smoke and drink most of the time, and the anger he felt at the world was not as often present as it might appear to be, but the cigarettes and the alcohol consumption had become a habit, part of his look and reputation too, so he didn't plan on giving up any time soon.

A screech of tyres caught his attention as he was about to pay for his goods and he swung round just in time to see an ugly jeep type car pull up a little to close to the shop window, and also far too close for Spike's comfort to his precious bike.

"Stupid bleedin' idiot!" he yelled as he stormed out of the shop, abandoning his almost-purchases on the counter. He let the door clang shut behind him, almost shattering the glass with the force, just as the owner of the geek machine disembarked.

"You!" Buffy said in unison with the stunned bleached blond.

"You always yell at people when they're trying to park a car?" Buffy snapped angrily, hands on her hips as she glared at Spike.

"I do when I think they're going to cause a bleedin' accident!" he yelled back, "You could've seriously buggered my bike there, luv" he pointed out, gesturing to his transport which was thankfully unscathed.

"See how much I do not care" Buffy said with a shrug as she headed past him into the store to fetch the groceries her Mom had sent her out for in the first place. It was only her volunteering for the task that had allowed her take the car out at all. Though she'd miraculously passed her test and now held a drivers licence, cars and Buffy were still unmixy things.

She was surprised when Spike caught hold of her arm and pulled her back from the door. When she turned to yell at him some more she found he was incredible close and staring at her with an intense look in his eyes.

"You're not afraid of me are you?" he said, tilting his head slightly.

"Why would I be?" Buffy replied without missing a beat, "Cos y'know if there's a reason please tell me so I can get to the running with terror already" she rolled her eyes, words dripping sarcasm as she tore her arm from his grasp and turned away.

"So if you're not afraid of me..." Spike said as he followed her into the store, "Reckon it must be cos you fancy me, pet" he smirked, as the shop girl from before overheard and giggled. If Buffy didn't find the bleached blond attractive, she certainly did.

"Obviously my attempts to cover my desire are pointless and futile" Buffy continued with the theme of sarcasm as Spike followed her around the store, "I want you so bad, baby" she said flatly, as if she were saying any regular sentence, tossing a few items into a basket and heading to the counter to pay for her goods.

"So, what then?" Spike asked, leaning on the counter and continuing to bug Buffy, "You not even gonna talk to me now?"

"That depends" the blonde shrugged, "You got a more exciting topic of discussion than the greatness of you?" she asked and his smirk grew.

"Was that a compliment, luv?" he checked, "Cos y'know you don't have to skirt round the issue, just tell me how you really feel"

Buffy rolled her eyes as she paid for her mother's groceries, picked up the bag and headed for the door without a word. She stopped and turned back briefly before she completely left.

"Oh Spike" she smiled sweetly, "Did you show the nice girl your ID before she sold you the Jack?" she asked faux-innocently as she finally left and the girl behind the counter frowned, moving the bottle away from him.

"Bitch" Spike muttered about Buffy as he swiftly paid for the cigarettes he was allowed to buy and headed out after the girl he still had to get a date with somehow. She was royally pissing him off but he was getting paid for a service and he didn't go back on a deal. Besides she was still hot and the fact she wasn't scared of him was attractive too - so few people faced up to him like she seemed willing to.

Spike arrived outside just as Liam Angelus pulled his car up behind Buffy's, blocking her exit. She leaned out of the window to curse at him, but Angel pretended he didn't hear her as he got out of his vehicle and headed towards the store, paying little or no attention to the blonde's protests, or to Spike who looked on in amusement. He actually burst out laughing when Buffy's head went back inside the car and the jeep suddenly lurched backwards denting the door of Angel's sports car spectacularly.

"What the hell did you do, bitch!" tall dark and forehead, as Spike had nicknamed him in his head, cursed colourfully as he ran back from the doorway of the shop to rescue his precious baby of a car.

"Did I do that?" Buffy faked innocence as she peered at him from the drivers seat of her mother's own car, "Oops"

* * *

"Oops is not a valid explanation, Buffy" Joyce snapped at her daughter as they sat opposite each other in the living room, "You cannot behave this way, causing so much damage. As if I don't have enough to deal with, now I have to pay Mr Angelus so he can get his son's car repaired" she yelled.

"Mom, I'm sorry" Buffy sighed, she genuinely hadn't meant to make her mother so mad, it was just Angel, he had this ability to make her so angry just by being within a five mile radius of her, "Won't the insurance cover it at all?" she checked.

"Oh of course, sweetheart, why didn't I think of that" her mother said sarcastically, "I'll just tell them you were having a bad day and you needed to release some tension by smashing two cars together!" she said, getting angrier by the second.

Buffy should have known her mother would never understand, but since she'd never told her the real reason she hated Angel so much, she really couldn't expect her to get it.

"I'm going to do my homework" she snapped, heading for the stairs and meeting her sister at the top.

"Connor just called me" she whined, "He said you wrecked Angel's car"

"Dawnie" Buffy sighed in annoyance, "Just leave me alone, okay?" she told her as she pushed past to her bedroom, "And if you have any functioning brain cells at all, leave the Angelus family alone too" she added as she slammed the door to her room and flopped down on the bed. As much as her sister tried to be there for her sometimes, Buffy felt as if nobody understood her at all, and despite appearances, she was getting really bored with it.

* * *

The next day at school, Spike was still smirking when he saw Angel in the halls. Buffy's outburst last night had been more than entertaining, after all anything that brought the rich poofter down a notch or two was fine by Spike. He'd take his money off him, it was too good a deal to pass up but he didn't like the bugger and figured he never would.

"Hey, Jackson!" the great lumbering idiot called when he spotted him.

"Oh that's right" Spike rolled his eyes, "Yell my name down the corridor and attract everyone's attention to your sordid little arrangements" he said sarcastically, making Angel frown.

"We won't have an arrangement much longer" he said in a low voice as he advanced on the bleached blond, "If you don't keep your end of this deal, Spike"

"Give a fella a chance, Peaches" he sighed, "Your bird you want seeing to is more than a little bit interesting" he smirked, "Don't fret though, I can handle her"

"I'm not 'fretting' or whatever" Angel pointed out, "but I paid you to go on a date with her. Watching the bitch wreck my car is not a date" he said menacingly.

Spike was unfazed.

"Look, mate" he told the slightly taller boy, "This is gonna take a little longer than I thought, but we had a deal, and I don't go back on my word" he swore, "Trouble is, might cost a little more than anticipated to get this bint to co-operate"

"I'm not paying you any more money" Angel laughed at the ridiculous concept as he turned to walk away, "Forget it"

"Forget the Little Bit then" Spike said flatly, making Angel look back at him, "I don't take out Little Miss FireBomb, your kid brother doesn't get her sister, remember?" he smirked.

"What did you say?" Connor asked as he approached the two older boys, "No way, Liam, you have to pay him" he insisted, "How else can I ever get Dawnie to go out with me?"

Stuck between the desperate look on his little brothers face and the annoying smirk on Spike's, Angel looked far from happy as he surreptitiously pulled out his wallet.

"Okay" he sighed, "How much?"

_To Be Continued..._


	6. What've We Learnt So Far?

**A/N : So I did good leaving the car scene in this apparently. Weird since I almost took it out and did something different. Oh well, lucky I changed my mind, I guess. Here's more for you.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 6 - What've We Learnt So Far?

"You sure you wanna do this?" Xander said nervously as he and Andrew sat across the library, watching Spike reading another serious black-covered book, booted-feet propped up on the table despite the fact the librarian had told him not five minutes ago to put them down on the floor.

"We have to, Xand" Andrew said determinedly, "For the love of my fair Dawn" he said, slamming his fist on the table and immediately regretting it. He shook his hand, exclaiming about the pain until he was told to be quiet by a couple of students who were trying to study at the next table.

"But we're talking about Spike" the brunette boy said in an incredulous whisper, "A guy who could kill both of us with a look, and might think he should if we go bothering him after he already told us not to"

"If you're afraid, then don't come" Andrew said as he got to his feet, shaking terribly despite his brave words, "Stand back, I'm going in" he said dramatically as he strode across the library. Xander couldn't let his new best friend go to his death alone and so dutifully followed, though intentionally stayed a step or two behind.

"Er, hi" Andrew said in a little squeaky voice, offering a small wave to the punkish lad seated before him, "I was, er, I wanted to talk to you... about Buffy?"

Spike's eyes narrowed at that.

"What about her?" he asked, looking like he was quite prepared to knock Andrew into next week if he said the wrong thing.

"Well, see it's... it's actually kind of a funny story" Xander laughed nervously until the severe look he received from Spike reduced his humour to nothing, "Er, we know the Angelus guys are paying you to date the Buffster" he said all in a rush and Spike put his book down on the table, removing his feet from the top and gesturing for the two boys to sit down.

"What else do you two know?" he asked with apparent interest, head tilting to one side as he stared at them.

Seemed strange to him if they were in league with Liam Angelus, and he couldn't imagine Buffy would hang around with them either, so how they knew about this deal or why they were talking to him about it puzzled Spike exceedingly. He hated to be kept in the dark, and besides, he found he had a little respect for these geeks. There were few kids in the school that would even look at him for fear of being killed or some such. Spike liked the power, it amused him, but he'd like very much to know why these two lads were facing up to him when they were evidently terrified of what he might do.

"Well, Angel, he has a lot of cash" Xander said, leaning over the table and whispering conspiratorially, "but he's kinda lacking in the brains department"

"And I s'pose you're bleedin' Einstein then?" Spike smirked, knowing just from looking at him that Xander was unlikely to be the intellectual type.

"We're smarter than him" Andrew piped up, the little bit of confidence he'd injected into the sentence disappearing immediately when Spike's bright blue eyes shifted from Xander to him, "I..I mean, well, we are" he insisted, "We kinda set him up"

"Set him up?" Spike checked, getting more and more intrigued by this. Xander got his nerve back and continued.

"We told Angel he should pay someone to take out Buffy so that his brother, Connor, had a shot with Dawn" he explained and Spike nodded.

"I got that bit, Whelp" he told them, "Their Mum's got some whacked out ideas about fellas, doesn't like her little girls dating and what not, so it's all or nothin'. Big sis gets a date or lil sis has to stay home too, right?"

"Right" Andrew nodded, "but I want Dawnie to go out with me and when I tried to ask you if you'd take out Buffy you kinda weren't so receptive" he said quietly, shifting nervously in his seat. He was terrified Spike would take something he said the wrong way and pummel him into a bloody mess before the day was out. Thankfully he didn't.

"One thing I don't get" the bleached blond said with a shake of his head, "You got that stupid poofter Angel payin' me to take out the angry chit, so you can date the littlest Summers" he recapped, "Where's this git Connor fit in?"

"We're kinda hoping Dawn's gonna go for Andrew instead of the money guy" Xander explained, realising perhaps there was a flaw in this plan. There was a lot riding on Dawn preferring Andrew and not the younger Angelus boy, otherwise the plan meant nothing.

"Wouldn't wanna be in your shoes" Spike smirked, leaning back on his chair and repositioning his feet on the table, "Still, rather see you than that Angelus sod get the girl. Can't stand their sort, all cash and no substance, give us decent blokes a bad name" he sighed as he picked at his black nail polish.

Xander and Andrew shared a look but made no comment about the 'decent blokes' part of that sentence.

"Er, so we heard you and Buffy didn't hit it off so well" the brunette said carefully, not loving the way Spike's head shot up and he gave him a nasty look, "Not that it's your fault, I mean she is kinda difficult but..."

"...if you can't convince her to go out with you, I don't get to go out with Dawn" Andrew finished the sentence his friend had started.

Spike looked between the two of the. A right pair of losers and make no mistake, but they'd come up with a decent plan and all for the love of a for damsel. Be sort of poetic if it wasn't so pathetic.

"Right then, lads" he said, sitting up straighter and facing them again, "What's the plan then? You did have a reason for coming over her to talk to me, right?"

"Oh, right, yeah" Xander agreed readily.

"We wanna help you, with Buffy" Andrew grinned, "We're gonna get inside information"

"Inside information?" Spike echoed, trying not to laugh at how excited these kids got at playing detective. To think they were supposed to be as mature as he was, it was ridiculous.

"We already know one thing" Xander enthused, "There's this big party at the Bronze on Saturday, and everybody who's anybody is gonna be there"

"The Bronze?" Spike repeated, face wrinkling up into a frown, "Not really my kinda place, boys" he admitted. All the so-called popular kids hung out at the Bronze. With him being the apparent outsider, it was hardly a place Spike was going to feel welcome, but then Angel was paying him a lot of money and these two just looked so pathetic and needy.

"Tell you what" he sighed, getting up from his seat, grabbing his book as he moved to walk away, "You deliver on the info, we'll see what happens, right?"

"Cool" Andrew grinned, high-fiving with Xander as Spike walked away.

* * *

"So, Dawn" Andrew began, as casually as possible as he sat next to his dream girl in the library helping her with her latest homework assignment for algebra, "I wanted to ask you something..." 

Dawn's body completely tensed up at that, she was certain he was going to ask her out on a date. To be honest she wasn't really sure what she'd say if he did. Andrew was totally sweet, but not as hot as Connor. It was such a dilemma being a sixteen year old girl, with two guys in love with you!

"What kind of things does Buffy like?" Andrew asked eventually and Dawn's pen skidded across the page as she reacted with shock.

"What!" she asked, voice going so high that only dogs could hear her til she got control of her vocal chords once again, "Why are you asking about her?" she asked with a steely tone and Andrew swallowed hard.

"I.. I'm doing it for you" he said with a nervous smile, "I know you can't date til Buffy does and there's this guy, he's willing to go out with her but she's not so much with the willing" he explained, eyes flicking between hers and the table which suddenly became very interesting.

He was looking away from her so much, Andrew almost missed the moment when Dawn's angry frown dissolved into a bright smile.

"You found a guy and you're researching... all for me?" she checked, thinking again how sweet and wonderful this guy was. Such a shame he wasn't gorgeous and rich too.

"I'd do anything for you, Dawn" he admitted shyly, "I want you to be the Jean Grey to my Scott Summers"

"That's nice" she replied uncertainly, not really certain what that meant.

"See, I wanted to take you to the Bronze on Saturday for the Grand Re-Opening and all" he explained, "I think maybe the guy I found could convince Buffy to go if you could give us some hints of stuff she likes or whatever"

"I can do better than tell you" Dawn grinned gathering up her books, "I'll show you" she announced, grabbing Andrew's hand and dragging him from the library.

Buffy wouldn't be home til late, since she'd said she was going straight to Faith's after school to hang. If she wasn't there, she couldn't yell at her sister for being in her room, or for taking Andrew in there either.

* * *

"Tell me again why we're here?" Xander said nervously, looking truly petrified as he and Andrew ducked through crowds of Hell Angel wannabes and over the top Goths, "It's like a leather convention for scary people!" he exclaimed. 

"We have to find Spike, and this is where he hangs out" Andrew reminded him, "Besides it's kinda cool here" he said, trying to sound confident and failing miserably as a large hairy guy gave him look making him squeak with fear. Running away from him caused Andrew and Xander to run smack into the back of the person they were looking for, just as he was about to take his shot at pool.

"What the soddin' hell do you think you're..." Spike cursed as he spun round and grabbed both of them by the shirts, "Oh, it's you two" he sighed letting them go, "What are you doin' in the Fish Tank?" he asked with a puzzled expression as he glanced over at his pool playing partner and told him he'd just be five minutes.

"We have info" Xander explained as Andrew pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.

"Er, yeah, so Buffy's not an easy girl to get along with, way anti-social these days but then I guess we all knew that" the boy smiled nervously, glancing at Spike and then going back to his piece of paper as the bleached blond lit a cigarette, striking the match on the edge of the table.

"Probably the first thing to mention is, she doesn't like smoking" Xander said carefully, ever mindful of Spike's temper.

"You want me to give up fags for the bint?" he asked incredulously, "Bloody hell!" he cursed as he took a long drag on what it seemed would be his final cigarette for a while, before stubbing it out, "Right, what else about this chit then?" he wanted to know.

"Er, likes, mostly black clothes, some angry girl music, way into her self defence and gymnastics classes, kind of a loner but has a best friend named Faith..."

"She's mates with Faith Lehane?" Spike checked, "Doesn't strike me as an obvious pairing"

"You know her?" Xander asked, thinking it was strange since Spike hadn't been around town for long and at school where Faith went so did Buffy.

"Find me a bloke in here that doesn't know her" Spike smirked, "By reputation at least if you know what I mean"

"Anyway, back to Buffy" Andrew pressed on, as he mentioned a few more things that Spike deemed not important. In the end he was going to win this girl same as he won all the rest, her likes and dislikes be damned, though he'd have a go and givin' up the fags for the foreseeable. His Uncle had been onto him about it too and to be honest he didn't fancy dying of lung cancer or some such before he was thirty just to be a rebel.

"Alright then, Sparky, I think I got the gist" Spike cut in when he realised Andrew was still rambling on. He downed the rest of his bourbon and moved round the pool table to re-set the balls for a new game.

"You really think you can get her to go to this party with you?" Xander asked, less worried about 'questioning Spike's rep' anymore, since it was likely he'd already caught twelve fatal diseases from the various unsavoury people that had bumped into him in this club.

"She's just a woman, boys" he told them with a smirk, "End of the day, that's all that counts" he shrugged, "Now you run along home, plan your big date with Dawnie for Saturday, Andrew. You got my word, Buffy and me'll be at that party"

Spike shook his head as the two lads picked their way carefully through the crowds and back out of the club. He wasn't sure why he was letting himself get dragged into all this. Maybe for the money Liam Angelus was paying him, maybe for the fun of getting the girl, but mostly Spike was starting to suspect he just really wanted to help Andrew out. After all, he could so easily have turned out like that, a lowly geek with just the one friend and a problem with getting the girls attention. As it was he was the school enigma, and he liked it better that way, he thought to himself as he prepared to take his shot at the pool table, already craving a cigarette he shouldn't have.

_To Be Continued..._


	7. The Fire Inside

**A/N : Okay, so this chapter takes a turn into a world thats not so much '10 Things...' and then back into it a little later. Hope you like it!  
**_**(For disclaimer etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 7 - The Fire Inside

Spike hadn't reckoned on Andrew and Xander being of much use to him where Buffy was concerned. The information they had about her he could easily have sussed out for himself he reckoned, it was all pretty obvious. Seemed they'd got her sister on side though. Whether she wanted to date Andrew or not, Dawnie was willing enough to get Big Sis hooked up with someone and apparently she thought Spike would do nicely. She helped out with the information gathering and the two geeks passed on what she told them to the bleached blond. This was how it came to be that Spike was standing outside the Sunnydale Gym complex, asking himself what the hell he was doing here, and why he'd agreed to give up cigarettes!

Buffy and her mate Faith came here in the evening at least once or twice a week and tonight was one of the chosen nights. Apparently in order to help out Andrew, Spike needed to convince Buffy to go to the grand re-opening of the Bronze with him on Saturday night, and obviously to keep the money coming in from Liam Angelus he had to get in the girls good books and secure several dates eventually.

"Right then, here goes" he sighed as he pushed off the wall and went in through the glass doors at the front of the building. At the front desk sat a blonde girl, one hand holding a telephone at her ear whilst the other played with her several necklaces as she giggled like a kid on helium. Spike winced at the sound but tried not to be too obvious in his pain as the girl, who's name badge said Harmony, glanced up and saw him there.

"I have to go" she told the person on the other end of the line, "I have... customers to see" she smiled brightly at Spike who forced a grin back at her. Since all doors beyond this point seemed to be marked Members Only he was going to have to sweet talk Little Miss Giggles here if he wanted to get to Buffy without paying out untold amounts of cash.

"Hi, can I help you?" she grinned at him.

"Well that all depends, luv" he smiled leaning over the counter.

* * *

"That was almost too easy" Spike said to himself as he strolled through the door, knowing exactly where he was headed now to find Buffy. Not only had the ditz at the desk willingly told him her full name, phone number, and everything else about herself including the colour of her underwear, he'd also managed to get himself access to any part of the gym he wanted and a map with the room where Buffy and Faith were marked on it, and all without spending a dime.

"X marks the spot" he said quietly as he peered in through the glass panel of the door. Seemed to be a sort of aerobics class or some such. A whole mass of women in lycra, working up a sweat. Spike certainly was not going to complain about the view, that was for sure.

All too soon the class was over and the women grabbed up towels and bottles of water as they headed for the door, all chattering away to each other, about the class and their lives and the men that were screwing them over right under their noses. Spike rolled his eyes as he listened to the inane babbling of all of them, and leaned back against the wall a few feet from the door. He only paid attention when he heard Buffy's voice and then he was by her side in a second.

"Hello, luv" he smirked, "Well, fancy seein' you here. S'pose it really is a small world" he feigned surprise at seeing her but neither Buffy nor Faith were buying it.

"What are you doing here?" the blonde snapped half-heartedly. This guy was kind of weird but he seemed to have a definite interested in her and he wasn't a complete moron like so many guys at school.

"Don't tell me the great Spike Giles is gonna join the gym" Faith laughed. She knew this guy by his reputation, just as he knew her the same way. Of course their fame was for very different reasons, but it was all the same world.

"What's the matter, pet, don't think I could take the pace?" Spike smirked.

"Wouldn't mind finding out sometime" Faith smiled, a definite look of interest in her eyes as Buffy sighed.

"Do you two wanna be alone?" she asked and Spike shook his head.

"Not a bit of it, luv" he assured her, looking her over, "Was meaning to ask you why exactly you come here though. 'S not like you need to lose weight or anything"

"I just like to watch my figure is all" she explained, wondering why she was bothering but carrying on with the conversation none the less.

"Can't blame you on that score, been watching it myself" he told her with a smirk. That would've made most girls blush, but not Buffy.

Faith was bored by now and told Buffy she'd see her in the locker room when she was done with BleachBoy as she put it. Spike was glad to see her go, he didn't need someone like her getting in the way of his plans.

"So, pet, what do you reckon my chances are of getting membership here?" he asked, for lack of any other way to make conversation right now as she stood there in front of him, arms folded across her chest.

"You wanna get in shape, Spike" she emphasised his unusual name, "I'd start by giving up smoking" she told him, remembering how he smelled of cigarettes when they met before, and he'd been buying them at the store too.

"One step ahead of you, luv" he told her, pushing his coat off his shoulders and moving his T-shirt to show her the top of his arm.

"You need two patches at once to get through the day?" she laughed slightly when she noticed.

"I've got an obsessive streak" he shrugged, pulling his coat back on, "Don't like givin' up on anything I develop a fancy for" he told her, the look on his face making his true meaning abundantly clear. He wanted her, he planned to have her, but as yet Buffy wasn't entirely sure whether she was prepared to let that happen or not.

"Whatever" she sighed, "I need to go shower and stuff" she said as she turned to walk away.

"Want any help, luv, you only have to ask" he told her and she looked back at him with an incredulous expression.

"You are so full of it" she said, unable to keep from smiling. Okay so he was kind of annoying, but he wasn't afraid of her, and he was so damn determined to get her attention. He was hot, it was flattering, she really could not find a way to complain.

"Doesn't stop you wanting me, does it, pet?" he said, more of a statement than a question as he approached her again.

Buffy didn't answer for a long moment, just stood a couple of inches in front of him, eyes locked onto his.

"Spike, I..." she said uncharacteristically softly, "I really think you should go home and take a cold shower" she told him in her regular voice, laughing as she turned to walk away. He was too quick for her, grabbing her wrist and spinning her back around to face him, he hadn't been as surprised by her trick as she'd expected.

"What are you doing?" she asked, less angrily than she'd meant to as she made him let go of her arm.

"The Bronze, Saturday night" he said in a low voice that made Buffy shiver involuntarily, "What d'ya say?"

"In your dreams, Spike" she told him after a moment, turning to walk away, which he let her do this time.

"Pick you up at seven thirty then" he called behind her, grinning to himself. She was a difficult bint, but she had a fire in her that excited him, and attracted him like no other girl he'd ever met.

Cash or not he reckoned he'd be trying to win her over anyway. He hadn't been lying about his obsessive nature, and Buffy was now the object of his desire. He didn't mind helping out that little geek Andrew or taking money off the poncin' Liam Angelus, but Spike was doing this for the pleasure of the sport alone now. He wanted Buffy at whatever cost, and he was going to get her.

* * *

Dawn was so completely over excited. She'd barely been able to believe it when she got to school on Wednesday and Andrew had told her Spike had managed to get Buffy to agree to a date on Saturday night. If her sister was going to the Bronze Re-Opening, that meant Dawnie could go to, and she couldn't be more thrilled. She couldn't imagine how Spike had managed to convince Buffy to date him, but she dare not ask her tempestuous sister. She sort of thought maybe she should thank her for agreeing to go out at all, thereby allowing her to go out too, but she doubted very much it was meant for her benefit. Besides, that kind of conversation could lead to Buffy finding out it was a set-up in a sense, since Spike was only trying to date the blonde to help out Andrew, or so the littlest Summers' had been told.

It made Dawn's head hurt to think about all the complications, so she stuck to the happy smiley topic of how great it would be to go to the party, and dance with Connor there. He'd asked her if she wanted to go with him and she'd been thrilled and yet disappointed because she knew she couldn't go if Buffy didn't. Now she was set to meet her crush at the Bronze where they could have the perfect date, at least she hoped that was what it would be. She had of course had to agree to see Andrew there too, after all it was down to him she was even allowed to go out at all. He was so sweet, and Dawn really liked him, but the fact remained, he was not Connor. The younger Angelus boy was the most gorgeous guy ever as far as Dawn was concerned and she was sure when she got to know him better he'd turn out to be just as sweet and thoughtful and kind as Andrew was, with the added bonus that he was totally hot.

A knock at the door signalled to Dawn that Janice had arrived and she pushed the top back on her lip gloss, threw it in her purse and hurried down the stairs. Joyce watched as Janice was let into the house and the two girls giggled in the hallway.

"Dawnie?" her mother frowned as she came from the living room, the paperwork she'd been doing still held in her hands, "You're very dressed up for studying, sweetie" she pointed out.

"Oh we're not studying tonight, Ms Summers" Janice told her, "It's the Grand Re-Opening of the Bronze"

"A party?" Joyce said with a look that could kill, "I'm assuming a party with boys and alcohol?"

"Well, kinda" Dawn admitted, "but Mom, you said I could go out if Buffy did" she whined, just as said blonde came down from upstairs, heading for the kitchen.

"Buffy, honey, what do you know about a party at the Bronze" Joyce asked her eldest daughter who didn't stop walking, just yelled her answer back over her shoulder.

"Nothing, except I'm not going!" she said firmly and Dawn stamped her foot, making an annoyed sound of indignation.

"That is so not fair!" she complained, in true teenage style.

"I'm sorry, honey" Joyce sympathised, "but we had a deal. If your sister doesn't go, you don't either"

"But she's not normal!" Dawn screeched, almost going hyper-sonic as Buffy returned from the kitchen with a can of soda in her hand, "What if she never goes on a date!"

"Then you'll never go on a date" Joyce told her, "I'm sorry, sweetie, but it's for your own good" she told her as she went back to the couch and sat down, casting an eye over the paperwork spread out on the coffee table.

Buffy smirked triumphantly at her sister, finding it highly amusing that her plans were ruined. She may be her sister, and yes she loved her really, but she could be such a whiny brat sometimes.

"People expect me to be at the party!" she continued.

"You mean Connor Angelus expects you to be there" Buffy amended as she sat down in the armchair and drank her soda.

"I'm willing to bet he expects a lot more than that too" Joyce added, "But it's all irrelevant, I already said you're not going Dawn"

The young teen launched into another supersonic whine-fest as she leant over her sister, pleading with her to be a decent human being for once. Janice was helping out with the argument as best she could, feeling bad for her friend who never seemed to get to have any proper fun. Joyce realised she was probably the only person to hear the knock at the door and so went to answer it, any excuse to avoid the teenage girls and their yelling for five seconds. She was more than a little surprised to find a young man with very blond hair and a long black leather coat standing on her front porch when she opened the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked, wondering if she shouldn't just shut the door again fast and call the police. He didn't exactly look the trustworthy type which was perhaps why the polite English voice that came from his mouth took her by surprise.

"You must be Mrs Summers" he said with a smile, "I'm William Jackson, but you can call me Spike" he said politely as he shook her hand, "I'm here to pick up your eldest, take her to a party"

"Huh?" Buffy said, in some kind of shock as she left her sister still complaining and came over to the door, "What the hell are you doing here?" she wanted to know as her mother looked on.

"We had a date, pet" he smirked annoyingly, "I did say seven thirty though, I s'pose I am a bit early"

Buffy looked at her mother who stared back with a questioning look, that was disapproving at the same time.

"Oh, I am so not going out with him" Buffy assured her.

"Oh come on, Buffy, please" Dawn whined from behind her as Janice chimed in saying it was just one night and what harm could it do, it might even be fun.

"Come on, luv" Spike said as he leant in the doorway, "What are you afraid of?"

Incensed by the fact she was being accused of being scared of anything at all, Buffy pushed past her sister, grabbed her jacket from where it hung on the end of the bannister rail and then turned to her mother as she pulled it on.

"Mom, we're going to a party" she said simply, "Come on you two" she added, as she glanced at Dawn and Janice who squealed with delight and followed her out of the house. Spike was smirking all the way, even if he did have to lengthen his stride to keep up with a fairly brassed-off Buffy, whilst Joyce stood on the porch yelling for her two daughters to be careful. Far too many dangers lurked at parties and night clubs she was sure, but her daughters didn't hear a word of her warnings.

_To Be Continued..._


	8. Party Time

**A/N : This chapter is a rewrite of one of my favourite parts of '10 Things...'. I hope I did it justice and that nobody thinks I copied the movie too much.  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 8 - Party Time

"Well, didn't exactly bank on playin' babysitter on our first date, pet" Spike smirked as he and Buffy got out of the car and walked a little behind Dawn and Andrew.

"This is so not a date" the blonde scoffed, shrugging away from Spike's arm when he tried to put it around her shoulders, "I came here to prove a point, and so Dawnie got to go to this stupid party" she complained as they went in through the doors of the Bronze and she surveyed the scene.

"Right then" Spike sighed, "This is gonna be a fun night" he muttered to himself as he followed the feisty girl over to the bar. She ordered a drink without even bothering to ask if he wanted one too. When the barman returned he paid for Buffy's drink before she got the chance to and ordered his own at the same time.

"You're not old enough to get alcohol" Buffy hissed as Spike's bourbon was placed on the bar in front of him. He smirked as he downed it in one.

"He doesn't know that" he shrugged, gesturing vaguely at the retreating barman, "'Sides it'd be legal back home. Everything's legal at eighteen" he explained as she gave up listening to him and scanned the crowd of writhing bodies on the dancefloor.

"Bitch!" she cursed, laughing as she said it. Clearly the insulting word was not meant to be half so harsh as it sounded as Spike followed her gaze to where Faith was dancing in the middle of the floor, surrounded by guys encouraging her in her sexy moves.

"Looks like she's havin' a good time" Spike smirked, "Though I wouldn't have thought this was the usual place you'd find her"  
"Oh yeah, cos you're here all the time" Buffy rolled her eyes, "You don't exactly look like you fit in"

"Well I didn't see a 'Welcome heinous bitch' sign either" he shot back smartly, making Buffy increasingly angry as well as upset, though she'd never admit his words wounded her. She'd liked him better when he was trying to be nice to her, and though arguing with him was almost just as much fun, she could do without his real insults. She had agreed to come out with him tonight to this dive after all, albeit under protest.

It was then Buffy spotted her sister hanging all over Connor Angelus. In a second she was off her stool and storming through the crowds, Spike following her with a frown as he wondered what was going on now!

"Dawn!" Buffy snapped as she got within ear-shot of the younger girl, catching both her attention and Connor's and truth be told everybody in a five foot radius, "What are you doing?" she asked angrily.

"I'm hanging out with my friends, Buffy" Dawn shot back, moving in closer to her sister and whispering, "Please do not make me look entirely lame" she begged as Connor reached for her from behind and pulled her back to him.

"Hey, I thought we were going to dance?" he reminded her and Dawn smiled, making a face at her sister a second later.

"Sure, we'll dance" she said evenly, "Buffy can go... do her own thing now, right sis?" her eyes begging still. With a sound of annoyance Buffy stormed back through the crowds, bumping into a gyrating Faith on the way.

"Geez, who the hell...! B!" she reacted loudly at the sight of her friend, "What the frickin' hell are you doing at the Bronze?" she checked and Buffy shook her head.

"I wish I knew" she sighed, "Didn't exactly expect to see you here either"  
"What can I say, B" Faith shrugged, "Semi-drunk football players are just too easy to pass up" she winked, before throwing herself back in amongst the men she'd previously been dancing with.

Buffy continued her route across the club, back to the bar and Spike dutifully went after, feeling like he'd run half a marathon already - did the woman never stop running about and yelling at people! She sat down on a stool then and turned around to find him right behind her.

"Do you have to stick to me like glue?" she rolled her eyes, "Just cos you drove me here doesn't make us joined at the hip or anything" she complained.

"Look, pet" Spike sighed, sitting on a stool beside her, "I don't rightly know what your problem is with fellas, though I got an idea it comes from your Mum" he said without the fear most people would have when confronting Buffy Summers about her bad attitude, "Thing is, I brought you here cos I fancied to get to know you better and it seems your sister and your mate can manage without you tonight, so how about it?"

"How about what?" Buffy frowned, remembering the many lines men were prone to use to get you to do what they wanted, just as her mother had listed them so many times before.

"How about we have a drink and, I dunno, talk or something?" Spike suggested, "Get to know each other a little bit better?"

Buffy glanced at Faith having a good time, Dawn fawning all over Connor and then Angel who eyed her up with barely disguised interest. It all made her feel sick.

"Fine" she sighed, tuning her attention back to the not-bad-to-look-at bleached blond beside her, "Vodka tonic"

"Luv, you know you shouldn't..." he began, until her eyes flashed angrily at him, "Right then, lady wants, lady shall have" he muttered as he called the barman over and ordered her drink, along with another bourbon for himself. It seemed the guy behind the bar either didn't realise, or didn't care that these two were kids here for the party and not old enough for alcohol as he served them and watched then down the drinks fast, immediately asking for another.

* * *

"...and the best part is, she doesn't even care" Buffy laughed like a drain as she continued to ramble on and on about nothing much. Spike had been talking to the girl, buying her drinks, and it was all going relatively okay til he realised she was slowly getting more and more drunk. Her sentences started to run on into each other and the girl was doing some high class babbling worthy of a brook by now after more vodka tonics than Spike had been able to keep count of, and a couple of his own bourbons too when his back was turned. Now she was half sitting on the stool, half laying on the bar, giggling like an idiot and telling him all manner of things, none of which were really making a whole lot of sense.

The bleached blond himself could handle his booze and since he hadn't even had as many drinks as Buffy he was still feeling fine, and functioning completely correctly. He glanced away from his date and spotted Angel gesturing for him to come over. With another glance at Buffy, Spike knew he couldn't just leave her there half cut, anything could happen. Faith spun up to the bar just at that moment, gasping to the bartender that she needed water desperately.

"Faith" Spike called her name, "Be a love and keep an eye on your mate here for me, just for a sec, would you?" he asked her and Faith frowned a little at the sight of a drunken Buffy before agreeing she'd watch over her for a while. That promise was forgotten just seconds later as a guy she'd been working on all night came and whispered something in her ear. With a dirty laugh she took his hand, agreeing to his proposition as they slipped beneath the balcony, kissing and pulling at each others clothes before they were even completely out of sight.

"What do you want, you great poofter?" Spike complained as he strode over to where Angel stood, "Standing over here beckonin' me over. You want people to think we're a pair of raving nancies?"

"Shut up" Angel ground out, pushing the other young man roughly against the wall, "You wanna be a pain in the ass and start a fight with me, that's fine, but not here" he warned Spike who stood tall and straightened his coat to show Angel's attacks and threats meant very little too him.

"So what do you want?" he asked, trying to see if Buffy was still okay but unable to do so through the crowd of people.

"Just wanted a progress report" Angel told him easily as he drank from the bottle of beer in his hand, "Connor's getting pretty serious about Dawn and that suits me fine, but it's all going to go down the toilet if you screw up with Buffy"

"You keep on paying me, I'll take her out, as many times as you want" Spike smirked, speaking with more confidence than he felt, "Bird's mad about me" he lied easily.

"Really?" Angel said, that one word edged with anger and jealousy, but not enough for Spike to really notice. He did however see, when the crowds parted slightly, that Buffy was no longer where he'd left her.

"Bugger" he muttered to himself, "Look if that's all you wanted mate, I've got to get back to my date" he said, quickly moving away, "Gotta keep the little woman happy" he added before he was out of Angel's ear shot. He was pushing through crowds of rowdy young people, desperately searching out a girl he found he really did sort of care for, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Er, hey" Andrew called, finally getting Spike's attention, though he kind of wished he hadn't bothered when the taller boy looked daggers at him, "Um, I wanted you to know, it's all off"

"Off?" Spike frowned, not getting it, and excessively annoyed at not being able to find Buffy too, "What the bleedin' hell are you talking about?"

"The deal, the whole you dating Buffy so I can date Dawnie thing... it's not gonna happen" he sighed, glancing over at where Connor and Dawn stood together by the bar surrounded by his other adoring fans and assorted friends.

"You're giving up that easily?" Spike asked incredulously, actually focusing a little bit of attention on Andrew and then Dawn for a moment. As much as it might seem she was having a great time, stuck to Connor Angelus, Spike wondered if she truly was. Besides he was damned if he fancied knowing he helped a little git like that end up with a sweet girl like Dawnie.

"...and he's just better than me in all kinds of ways..." the boy was rambling when Spike turned into his words once again.

"Andrew, for God sakes" he sighed, interrupting him, "You like Dawn right, really like her? Maybe love her?" he checked and Andrew barely had to consider before he nodded in agreement.

"Then pull yourself together and have at it!" Spike commanded him, "You ponce about like a poof, telling yourself and everyone else how much better off little Dawnie'd be with Connor than with you then you're never going to get anywhere!" he half-yelled over the din of the music he despised that spilled out from the speakers all around him, "Fight for her Andrew, she might just love you for it" Spike told the boy, slapping him on the back and almost breaking bones on the poor kid who wasn't used to such violent gestures of friendship as Spike strode off in the opposite direction, hoping to find Buffy again.

"'Scuse me, luv" he said as a young woman came out from the bathroom, "Don't s'pose you've seen a blonde girl in there or anywhere else about, about this tall" he gestured, "Bit worse the wear for the drink and wearing, er, jeans and a dark red top" he said, as he tried to recall her outfit.

The girl before him just laughed, apparently drunk herself, one hand going to her mouth as she pointed passed Spike and up onto the bar.

"Oh bloody hell!" he cursed when he turned and saw what the girl had seen. Buffy was currently standing on the bar, gyrating and dancing like she belonged in some sort of strip joint to the pounding beat of some overly-loud pop tune he couldn't name if he tried.

"Woohoo!" Buffy whooped as she shook her assets for all to see, and the crowd of young and mostly drunk people all around her clapped and cheered right back. Angel was in the foreground, definitely enjoying the show. Spike was only glad that Dawn didn't seem to have caught sight of all this, she didn't seem to be anywhere around, as Connor stood with his brother, cheering Buffy on.

Spike fought his way through the crowds, arriving by the bar just as the song ended. Buffy had been moving around the surface of the bar top on her knees the past while as she stood up to take a bow to finish her dance, she clocked her head on a rail that hung from the ceiling. She fell backwards, landing straight in Spike's arms as the crowd continued to cheer.

"Soddin' hell, you stupid bint" Spike cursed spectacularly as he scooped the semi-conscious form of Buffy up into his arms and pushed his way to the doors.

"What happened?" she said sounding very shaky as Spike stood her on her feet outside the door, still holding her up since she looked ready to fall again.

"Before or after you got smashed, pet?" he smirked as she leant back against the wall and he held her steady.

"I'm not drunk" Buffy giggled uncontrollably, swaying around before eventually falling forwards into Spike, her head resting on his shoulder, "I'm just sleepy" she mumbled against his chest, her eyes closing. As nice as it felt to have a woman like her in his arms this way, Spike couldn't let Buffy stay there.

"No, pet, now come on" he said, putting her at arms length and shaking her slightly, "Can't have you dropping off to the land of nod now, can we? Might have a concussion, might lose you for good"

Buffy opened her eyes and glared at him a little.

"You don't care about me" she said, shrugging his hands away and stepping to the side, immediately regretting it as her stomach lurched and her head spun. She stumbled into the mouth of the alley beside the Bronze and Spike followed, helping her to her feet once again and holding against the wall to keep her stable.

"Course I care" he smirked, pushing her hair off her face, "If you died, I'd have to start hanging around girls that actually like me" he told her.

"Like you could find any" Buffy shot back, her witty comebacks not as impaired by her drunkenness as her walking skills it seemed.

"Whatever you say, luv" Spike said with an amused smile. He didn't mind letting her get a couple of easy shots in right now, so long as she kept smiling like that and letting him hold onto her. God but she was beautiful right now, bathed in the moonlight and being all giggly and almost sweet. Took every bit of strength he had not to take advantage of her clouded mind.

"You don't actually like me, I know that" she said, looking at him strangely, "You probably only got me out in this alley to..." the rest of her sentence was left unsaid though the weird little movement she made with her eyes told him what she was implying.

"I'm not bloody like that!" he protested loudly, "God, you ungrateful bint! Here's me trying to make sure you don't die and you're accusing me of trying to... Oh buggering hell!" his rant turned into cursing and frantic yelling of Buffy's name as her eyes fell shut and she seemed to pass out into his embrace.

"Buffy, come on, luv, open your eyes!" he begged her, "Sweetheart, talk to me"

With a startled expression she glanced up at him, eyes wide as she stared into his own and he breathed a sigh of relief that she was awake.

"Sweetheart, huh?" she questioned his term of endearment for her but he found it very hard to answer as she stared into his eyes as if she was reading his soul, "Y'know, you have the most beautiful blue eyes" she whispered, her lips just a fraction away from his own. Spike knew it was a really bad idea but he so wanted to kiss her and was just about to when Buffy pulled away from him, throwing up spectacularly all over the ground.

"Perfect end to a perfect night" Spike sighed to himself as he crouched down beside Buffy, rubbing her back as she coughed and spluttered. She might have acted like a stupid bint tonight, but he liked her all the same, and he wouldn't leave her in this state, he just couldn't.

_To Be Continued..._


	9. Take Me Home

**A/N : So glad you guys aren't getting bored with this fic, it's always a danger when writing a story based on a movie. Anywho, here's the next chapter...**_**  
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 9 - Take Me Home

Dawn could hardly believe she'd made such a big deal about coming to this party. Connor seemed so cool, and obviously he was gorgeous, but my God, boredom-fest much! It hadn't taken long before someone had asked him what happened last weekend and so had begun the re-run of a fight he'd gotten into with a gang from across town. Himself and his brother, and few others fought for... well, Dawn wasn't precisely sure what the fight was over, but she doubted it was for justice or whatever, probably over somebody's ho of a girlfriend or something. She got bored of listening after the first ten minutes as Connor got overly dramatic about how Angel had taken this hit, and then he himself had knocked some guy into next week. He didn't even notice when Dawn slipped off to the ladies room and never came back.

The youngest Summers sighed and looked around the club. Buffy and Spike seemed to have disappeared, Janice should've been meeting her here but it seemed she hadn't showed, and Connor, oh God he was walking straight toward her. Despite the fact she'd been mentally insulting him for the past half hour, she couldn't help but grin as he smiled and came over to her.

"Hey, I lost you somewhere" he told her as he sat down beside her, "Were you not having a good time?" he checked, looking a little worried.

"No, I was, I..." Dawn started to lie and then changed her mind, but wasn't certain she could bear to tell this guy she didn't think she wanted to see him anymore. She'd made such a big deal about dating him, she finally got her chance and now, somehow it didn't seem quite so important, Connor seemed a little less special the more she got to know him.

"I'm sorry, Dawn, if you felt I wasn't paying enough attention to you, I just..." he began to apologise only to be interrupted by his cellphone ringing in his pocket. He muttered 'excuse me' as he took the call and talked to Cordelia, the woman Dawn knew to be his and Angel's very young step-mother. Their real mother had died when they were little and since then their Dad had been through a lot of women before finally marrying Cordy, who was nearer to the boys age than her husbands.

"Uh, Dawn" Connor said, looking awkward as soon as he'd finished his phone-call, "That was my Step-Mom, she's really upset, she needs me to go home"

"Now?" Dawn checked, not believing that after ignoring her half the night, her date was now leaving, to go running home to his mother.

"I have to, she had a fight with my Dad, she needs someone" he shrugged as he pushed his phone back in his pocket and glanced around trying to spot Angel. He couldn't see him and decided it'd be easier just to go by himself.

"I'm sorry, Dawn" he said once more before he disappeared through the crowds towards the exit.

"Dumped for an older woman on our first date" Dawn said to herself, "Wouldn't be quite so sad if the woman wasn't his step-mother..." she sighed, just as Andrew came over to the table where she sat alone.

"Hey, er, I have a message from Buffy and Spike" he said fast, "She wasn't feeling well so he took her home early. They guessed you'd get a ride with Connor or whatever, but Spike said if you need him to come get you to call his cell" he shoved the piece of paper with number on at her, before turning to walk away.

"Andrew!" Dawn called after him, hating she'd alienated this guy who she'd kinda thought of as a friend, "I... Are you having a nice night?" she asked for lack of anything else to say. She wanted to apologise really, for coming to the party with him and then spending time with Connor, but she was sixteen years old and it wasn't as if they were married or anything. Still, she felt bad for hurting him.

"I thought it'd be better" Andrew told her, wishing he could just walk away from her after the way she'd treated him but he just couldn't. Somehow he'd fallen in love with this girl and he felt he would be doomed to that fate forever, no matter how badly she treated him.

"Me too" she nodded, looking down at her half-drunk soda on the table, "I... I don't suppose you wanna walk me home?" she asked him shyly and even though he knew he was an idiot for saying yes, that's exactly what Andrew did.

* * *

Buffy felt surprisingly better after she'd thrown up in spectacular style, and though Spike could have done without seeing her do it, he was glad she was a little less obviously drunk now. He couldn't deal with her like that, she was like a woman possessed. He liked the real Buffy, despite the fact she appeared on the surface to really hate him. He doubted there was as much hate for the human race in Buffy as she pretended to have, especially where he was concerned. Tonight could've been about proving a point, maybe even helping her sister out, but on some level Spike was fairly certain she just liked spending time with him too, even if she used up most of it bitching at him.

Spike waited for the lights to change from red to green as Buffy pushed buttons on the radio, almost smacking her head on the dash when the car started to move once again. She laughed at her own near miss, proof she was still a little worse for wear for the drink.

"I love this song" she sighed as she sat up and leant her head against the cool glass of the side window, watching the world go by, or Sunnydale at least.

"'S not bad" Spike conceded, not fancying an argument at this particular moment in time, despite the fact he wasn't a huge fan of this kind of music. He smirked as she started humming along, singing the few words her alcohol-fogged mind could recall. He was fairly certain she would sound better singing sober.

"I should so totally do this" she said suddenly, one hand gesturing vaguely at the radio.

"Install car stereos?" Spike asked her with a smirk as he glanced away from the road just briefly.

"Oh, wow, you're hilarious" Buffy rolled her eyes, her sarcastic tone very apparent, "I'm talking about music, singing, being in band or something" she explained, even though he'd sort of known what she meant anyway.

'"S not a bad idea, pet" he nodded as he pulled the car up outside 1630 Revello Drive, "Thought about it myself once"

"You can sing?" Buffy frowned attempting to shift in her seat so she could see him better and finding she still felt a little woozy.

"Yeah, well, sort of" he admitted, "Play guitar pretty well too, written a few things, nothin' special" he told her with a shrug, staring out through the windshield. He had no idea why he was telling her all this, nobody knew this kind of thing about him and he liked to keep it that way, but everything was different with Buffy. It was crazy since he'd only asked her out in the first place because he was getting paid too! Now he knew he was falling for the silly bint, and that was just going to cause all manner of problems.

"So, were you ever in a band?" Buffy asked him, "Or are you strictly solo?"

"Decided I wasn't the band type, luv" he told her, "Prefer to be alone most of the time"

"Huh" Buffy looked thoughtful as she leaned closer to him, "That's weird, cos you seemed to make a big deal out of hanging around me lately..." she smiled, knowing she was right, but unsure as yet whether she was saying this to annoy him or to get him to admit something.

"Well, that's different, isn't it, pet?" he smirked, "You're different, you're... special" he admitted, smirk turning into a genuine smile as she almost blushed.

"Special, huh?" Buffy grinned, finding it both amusing and entirely sweet that he was saying this stuff to her. They'd both subconsciously leaned closer towards each other as they'd been talking and the blonde allowed her eyes to fall shut as she anticipated the kiss she guessed was coming.

Spike felt like such a git as he looked at Buffy. She was a hell of a woman, he liked her more than he really should, but there was no way he could kiss her now, no matter how much either of them wanted it, and it seemed she really did. He was being paid for this, it was dishonest and dirty, besides which the girl was still a little drunk and not necessarily in full possession of her sanity.

"Er, reckon you ought to get inside before dear old Mum flips her lid, pet" he said, pulling back and hoping she wouldn't go nuts at him for this.

He couldn't look at her, and so didn't see her stunned expression as she opened one eye then the other, both going wide when she realised what had happened.

"Whatever" she muttered to herself as she fought with the car door in an attempt to get out. The handle got stuck at first and her being so mad at Spike and so eager to get away from him did not help at all.

As she finally made it out of the vehicle, Buffy slammed the car door, almost cracking the glass in it and Spike winced at the sound as he sat back in the drivers seat and cursed himself. He should've just kissed her, he really wanted to, but he knew he'd hate himself more for doing that than he did right now. In any other situation it could've worked out okay, he could see himself being seriously in love with Buffy Summers but he couldn't let that happen when all this should be nothing more than a business deal. He was getting paid to date her and if he got really close to her, only to have her find out the truth... Spike didn't like to think what she'd do to him then, but it'd be so far away from snogging.

As an angry sound, not dissimilar to a growl, escaped his throat he put the DeSoto in gear and drove away at speed, squealing the tyres down Revello Drive and making Dawn jump. She and Andrew were walking just a few feet away, having almost caught up to her sister and Spike since they'd been sitting in the car talking so long and the cool night was making the younger pair walk faster.

"Well, I guess this is where I get off" Dawn grinned as she made her little half-joke, the smile dying on her lips when she glanced across at Andrew's own sad expression.

"You never even liked me, did you?" he accused, sounding somewhat childish but mostly just pained, "I did all this for you, set the whole thing up and all you wanted was Connor Angelus"

"No, I..." Dawn began, realising all too quickly she just couldn't lie to this guy, what she'd done had been too obvious to deny, "Okay" she sighed, "So I wanted to date Connor, and I guess in some ways I kinda did a bad thing to you. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to the party with you and then spent time with him but, my God, Andrew, this was like the first night in forever that I was allowed to go anywhere" she told him, laughing painfully, "I want to live my life, be young, have some fun and everything, I thought I wanted Connor and this was like my one shot" she explained, knowing she probably wasn't making Andrew feel any better and wondering herself why she was saying it. It annoyed her a little that her one night out had gone so wrong, and Andrew was getting a little of her anger mixed in with what should've been a kind of apology.

"You _thought_ you liked Connor?" Andrew checked, having picked up on her wording most particularly because he was hoping she no longer laboured under the delusion that the younger Angelus boy was God's gift to the human race. There was no way Connor was better for Dawn than Andrew, or so the boy himself thought. He loved her, he knew that already, and he wanted to make her happy any way he could, it was why he'd set Buffy up with Spike after all, and risked getting pummelled by Angel into the bargain. Still, he didn't know that he liked the way Miss Summers was treating him right now.

"I do like him" she confessed suddenly, eyes permanent on the ground as she shifted her feet, "but I like you too, and I know I screwed up tonight" she laughed humourlessly at herself then, "The first night I get to go out with a guy, I get a choice of two and I'm so dumb that I mess up with both of them. God I am so lame" she cursed herself but Andrew wouldn't hear her speak so badly of herself.

"You didn't mess up with me" he assured her, "I think you're really great, Dawn. You're beautiful, and so sweet, and just cos you kinda used me a little today that doesn't mean I don't like you anymore. I do, a lot" he admitted, making her blush as she glanced at him in the moonlight. Okay, so he wasn't as obviously gorgeous as Connor, but he liked her, he made sacrifices for her, and he said such beautiful things sometimes.

"Thank you" she said with a smile, "You're a really nice guy, Andrew, and I mean that" she promised him, making it the young man's turn to be a little embarrassed. He didn't get a chance to say anything though as Dawn stepped in closer and moved to put her lips to his in a sweet kiss.

A moment later Andrew heard her say goodnight, and she was gone when he opened his eyes. It was almost as if those few seconds had never occurred, but he knew they had. Tonight hadn't gone exactly how he'd planned but he was certain now as he crossed the street, doing a little happy dance on his way home, that he was in love with Dawn Summers and that she might just feel the same one day.

_To Be Continued..._


	10. Aftermath

**A/N : Veering way off the beaten track of '10 Things...' here but hopefully you'll still like it. We'll be heading back to the plot of the movie later, more or less anyway. In the meantime, enjoy!  
****(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**

Chapter 10 - Aftermath

"Okay, so looking back over the points discussed in chapter three, we can see that..." the teacher stopped mid-sentence as there was a clatter by the door and Spike came crashing in, looking both unkempt and a little pissed off.

"Ah, Mr Giles, so nice of you to join us" the teacher said sarcastically as the bleached blond shrugged his coat off and took the only available seat right at the front of the room. He hated sitting so close to the teacher, made it that much harder to block his ears to the constant droning voice of the man who seemed so excited by his history books. Spike's head was thumping like he'd got an entire samba band sitting in his frontal lobe, such was the effect of too much alcohol consumed over the weekend.

Spike drank when he was angry, or miserable, and sometimes when he was happy, though that didn't happen very often. It meant he was semi-drunk a not small portion of the time. He'd smoked half a small tobacco plantation too as he'd laid in his room, staring at the ceiling, playing his punk CDs at maximum volume to keep his Uncle away from him. His head was full of Buffy, and after all his thinking about her and the situation they'd found themselves in, he still had no idea how to handle it.

Spike was good with women, had been for years now, ever since he got the bad boy image. Girls went for the dangerous type, thrill of the possible danger he supposed, it didn't matter. Fact was he could have pretty much any girl he wanted, except Buffy.

That's what had started it, well, the money Angel gave him had been part of it, but even that wouldn't have kept him playing this game so long if Buffy had been easy. She wasn't afraid to give her opinion, and she hadn't exactly started out with a great one of him. She bitched, and she fought against it, but now she was genuinely starting to like him, if her pouting at him in the car on Saturday night was anything to go by. She wanted him to kiss her, he really wanted to, and yet he couldn't do it because it was all a lie.

Liam Angelus was a git, but he had cash to spend and he'd paid Spike for a service. Then there was poor pathetic little Andrew desperate for a date with Buffy's kid sister, Dawn. Somehow amongst all this Spike had found himself dating a woman with a temper to rival his own, and now for the first time in his life, he was genuinely falling in love. The problems that remained now were that Buffy was probably pissed at him for not kissing her on Saturday, and that if he explained why that was she'd probably kick him where it hurt so hard he'd never walk again. The girl had the moves, she could probably kill him, and being the idiot he was, he'd probably let her if it meant she'd touch him again.

The bell rang loudly, making Spike physically wince as his head buzzed for a long moment even after the ringing was over. Everybody seemed to be making the most noise right near his ears and the teacher warned him quite vocally that if he was late one more time he'd be spending a large amount of time in detention.

"Idiot" he heard someone mutter as they pushed passed his desk. he glanced up, frowning, just in time to see Buffy disappear out of sight, with Faith by her side. Seemed he wasn't wrong about the blonde being mad at him, what he needed to know was how mad, and if this was fixable in any way at all. Probably best to wait til his hangover had cleared some before he tried to do anything though, he decided, slipping off to the library to sleep through his free periods.

Spike just made it to a seat in the back corner when a pair of excited little geeks came running at him, making far too much noise in his opinion. 

"Hey, Spike" Andrew grinned, "Isn't it an awesome day?"

"Not seein' it myself" the bleached blond sighed as he sat down heavily in the nearest chair, "You got any pills on you?" he asked hopefully, making Xander frown and back up a step.

"You mean drugs!" he asked with wide eyes, not liking the idea of getting so mixed up with this guy if he was taking something.

"Yeah" Spike rolled his eyes, "As in aspirin you half wit!" he snapped, wishing he hadn't raised his voice when his head throbbed some more.

"Er, kinda not" Andrew told him, taking the seat opposite, "but I do have good news. Me and Dawn, we're kinda coupledy" he grinned like an idiot, and Spike was sure if his smile got any wider the boys face would split in two.

"Good for you, mate" he sighed, "Can't say as things are so great with me and her sister"

"You upset the Buffster?" Xander asked, deciding it was safe to sit down now that the drugs issue had been cleared up, "Is that why you need painkillers? Did she beat you up?" he checked.

"No she bloody didn't!" Spike argued, disliking intensely the fact this pratt was insinuating a girl could hurt him this much, "Got a hangover is all, what happened with Buffy... fact is nothing happened with Buffy and that's why she's so royally brassed off" he told them. Andrew's smile fell off his face immediately.

"But if Buffy is upset with you, she won't date you" he said worriedly, "and that means I can't take out Dawnie" he whined, "Oh my God, we have to fix this"

"Andrew, we will fix it" Spike assured him, "But I am gonna have to kill you slowly and painfully if you don't stop bleedin' whining in my ear, got it?" he said, in a dangerously low voice and more in Andrew's face than the boy was really comfortable with.

"Uh-huh" he agreed quietly and Spike leant back in the chair, closing his eyes against the bright electric light on the ceiling.

"So, what exactly happened with you and Buffy?" Xander asked carefully, knowing it was best not to make this guy anymore angry than he already was.

"I took her home, she was all up for a good snog and I... I couldn't do it" Spike sighed, hating his decision right now. Part of him knew he'd done the right thing in not making the move, but God he'd so wanted to and she had to. Now he was royally screwed and couldn't see a way to make this better. Any other girl, he could have them back in a second one way or another, but Buffy was different, that was the point. It was why he liked her so much.

"You hurt her feelings?" Xander checked, "Wow, I wasn't sure she had any anymore"

"Yeah, well, turns out you were wrong" Spike pointed out, "Just wish I knew how pissed she was before I try and fix this" he sighed, "Dating her's like being at bloody war, and knowing your enemy before the battle is vital"

"Speaking of enemies" Xander grimaced as Faith came into view, looking a little lost.

"Faith, what the bloody hell are you doing in a library?" Spike asked her, with a raised eyebrow, "You're just about the last person I'd expect to see amongst the bookshelves, unless your back was up against one" he smirked as she gave him the finger for that comment.

"Yeah, well, I got business to take care of" she shrugged, "Some geek was supposed to deliver my math homework this morning and didn't show, the creep" she snapped before seeming to suddenly realise that the notoriously badass Spike Giles was sitting with two losers, "Since when were you in with the out crowd?" she quipped.

"Doing business, luv, just like you" Spike told her.

Faith stared at him for along moment, before casting her eyes left and right, taking in Andrew and Xander sitting either side of the bleached blond. She smiled slowly.

"Y'know, a cynical person might think it's kinda suspicious" she said, hands on her hips as she looked at each of them in turn, "I see you hanging around Dawnie" she said, pointing at Andrew, "Then her Mom switches rules so the little princess can date if anyone can charm the pants off B. All of a sudden you get interested in my partner in crime" she continued, finger now pointing at Spike, "And I find you two cutting deals in dark corners"

"Question becomes then, Faithie" Spike said, propping his feet up on the desk, "You a cynic, pet?"

She laughed at his nonchalance. There was no reason for her to think he was doing anything other than play her friend, after all men were only good for one thing and though she was fairly certain Spike would be a stallion in the sack, she was sure he'd be just like every other guy in every other sense. No better, no worse.

"I'll tell you this much, BleachBoy" she said, with a shake of her head, "Whether you want B for real or not, that ain't none of my business, but she is damned mad at you today. We're talking all out kick your ass type crazed. So you might wanna avoid actually talking to her" she said right before she walked away, messing up Xander's hair as she did so. She'd seen him trying to straighten it out this morning by his locker, and she just loved to mess with that guy.

"Oh great" Spike sighed when Faith was gone, "Buffy hates me, and if I talk to her I'll get bitch-slapped into next week. 'S definitely a morning for agreeing with the Boomtown Rats. I don't like Mondays" he groaned, covering his eyes as his head spun some more.

* * *

"Yo, B!" Faith yelled down the hallway as she spotted her friend, standing by the notice board, "What's up?"

"Everything" Buffy said absently, "But in large part this kinda crap" she sighed, gesturing to the poster advertising the Homecoming Dance being held at the Bronze.

"You're not going?" Faith asked her, "Not even if BleachBoy asks?" she smirked, knowing it would make Buffy so mad. Sometime that was just fun.

"Not if he were the last man alive" she said, suddenly ripping the poster down in a fit of rage, "I hate that guy" she snapped as she made to walk away and Faith went after her.

"Kay, B, don't sweat it" she told her, "We can hit the dance together, or not go at all, it's no big to me, it's all five by five" she shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I won't be going with any of the morons at this school" Buffy said firmly, "Call Saturday night a bout of temporary insanity. I am not dating these idiots again, they're all losers"

* * *

Buffy was still stuck in her I Hate Men riff at lunch and Faith was starting to get a little on the bored side. She was in total agreement with what her friend was saying, men were good for a ride and that was just about it, but the way Buffy was talking Faith knew Spike had seriously damaged her pride somehow. She liked him too, more than she thought the girl could like anyone and Faith only hoped she could take the blow if Spike hurt her badly.

"Hello, Buffy" aforementioned bleached blond said almost nervously as he appeared behind her seat in the cafeteria. Once his hangover had cleared he's decided it was time to face this girl he was rapidly falling for. She had to like him, he knew that from what happened on Saturday, and it wasn't as if he couldn't defend himself if she got violent.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you, Blondie" Faith told him as Buffy refused to turn and look at him.

"Oh what, and she can't tell me that for herself?" Spike checked, causing Buffy to get up suddenly, almost smacking into him.

"Yes, I can tell you myself" she snapped, "I can tell you that Saturday night was not special, or magical, it was barely even fun" she half-yelled, catching the attention of nearby students eating lunch, "I can tell you that you're a lousy date and that frankly I'm glad nothing happened, because if you'd have touched me like at all, I wouldn't be able to take enough hot showers to get the gross feeling off my body" she said nastily before storming out of the cafeteria to applause from a few other diners. Free entertainment during lunch was always fun.

Spike was like a man possessed as he went after her. God she made him mad, when all he wanted to do was apologise to her, to make things right. Her yelling and screaming did nothing to deter him, in fact when she was being all up in his face, high and mighty, tellin' him he was scum, somehow that was when she was most attractive to him, and she bloody turned him on that way too.

He caught up with her in the near-empty hall and grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him.

"Get your hands off me!" she said angrily, pulling herself free, "Leave me alone"

"See, I don't think you want that" Spike told her, spinning her around and pinning her to the wall, he didn't hold her there, just stood right in front of her so she had nowhere to go. Oh he knew she could move him out of the way if she wanted to, she had the moves, he'd seen them, but that was the point. If she didn't use them now, just stuck to threats, then her wanting to get rid of him was all a facade as he suspected.

"I hate you" she seethed as he leaned into her.

"Hate now is it, pet?" he smirked, "'S not what it looked like when you were sitting in my car Saturday not, eyes shut and all pouty like you were"  
"I was drunk" she defended her actions, though her eyes went to the floor when she said it. She knew it wasn't just the booze that made her want to kiss Spike, she wanted that anyway, she wanted it now, but she wouldn't let herself say so.

"And that's exactly why I backed off" he told her, "Don't take advantage of drunk young woman" he told her, "but... well, both sober now aren't we?" he smirked, and she really wasn't aware of what he was doing til he put his lips to hers.

For a few moments they both got lost in a deep, passion-filled kiss that drew the attention of several passers by. It was only when the bell rang, reminding Buffy where she was and what she was doing that she pulled away. She looked so angry and Spike was so startled by her sudden movement he didn't see her hand coming til he felt it strike his face.

"Stay away from me, or you'll regret it" she said angrily as she stormed off down the corridor, leaving Spike staring behind her. He hadn't planned on kissing her, told himself he wouldn't in fact, not yet, but she just got him going so easily he couldn't help himself.

"Well, least I got a reaction" he muttered to himself.

_To Be Continued..._


	11. If Music Be The Food Of Love

Chapter 11 - If Music Be The Food Of Love...

"Oh, honey, come here" Cordy smiled as she pulled Connor back as he made for the front door, "I made you something for lunch" she told him, handing him a brown paper bag, "Gotta keep my boys well-fed and healthy" she smiled, kissing his cheek. Connor blushed as she wiped lipstick from his face, before he followed his seething brother out of the door.

"What is going on?" Angel demand to know as he pointed his keys at his car and clicked the button to unlock it.

"I don't know" Connor shrugged, "Sometimes Cordy is a little weird" he said awkwardly, not willing to tell his brother the truth.

Saturday night had started out great, being with Dawnie and all. He'd hated having to leave her to go home, but Cordelia had sounded so upset on the phone. She'd been kind to him, a good mother these past few months, he owed her. He hadn't expected to find her in her nightwear when he got home, telling him how lonely she was. He hadn't expected to end up in her bed experiencing things he'd never felt before. Most of all he hadn't expected her to encourage him in his pursuit of Dawn, so long as he didn't forget about her.

"So, anyway" Angel said as the brothers approached the school, "Homecoming dance is coming up. You gonna ask Dawn?"

"I'd love to" Connor sighed. Despite his experiences with Cordelia, he still cared a lot for the youngest Summers girl, "Problem is, I can't take Dawn if Spike doesn't take Buffy" he told his brother sadly as they both got out of the car and Angel locked it.

"He'll take her" he promised, flipping his keys into his pocket and grabbing his wallet instead.

Connor smiled and thanked his brother before spotting Dawn across the quad and running to catch up with her. She grinned as he approached her. Despite the events of Saturday night, Angel was quite proud of his brother for the way he'd got Dawnie to forgive him for abandoning her at the Bronze. The kid was learning fast, but then he had the best teacher in his older brother.

Angel walked in the opposite direction to his brother, seeking out a guy he loathed but that he needed right now. Spike should have been easy enough to spot with his black outfit and bleached blond hair, but Angel walked right past him as he leaned back against the wall around the corner from where tall, dark and forehead was going.

"Lookin' for me?" he asked, smirking as he blew out smoke and dropped his spent cigarette on the ground, stubbing it out with his booted foot.

Angel covered well for the fact Spike had made him jump, but didn't bother disguising his annoyance.

"You get a kick out of being a pain in the ass?" he asked angrily.

"Only when it's you I'm winding up" Spike shrugged, "You're too easy, Peaches"

"I don't have time for this crap" Angel shook his head, checking no-one was looking and pulling a bundle of bills from his back pocket. He pulled two twenties and a ten from the bunch and held the out to the bleached blond.

"Need me to take out the bird again?" Spike checked with a tilt of his head, not yet taking the money.

"I want you to take her to the Homecoming Dance" Angel explained, "Connor wants to take Dawn, so you're taking Buffy"

"Yeah, one small problem with that, mate" Spike told him, pushing away from the wall and turning to walk away, "'M not dancing to your tune anymore, Angelus" he said simply, taking a few steps before stopping as Angel called behind him.

"How about double the cash?" he offered, as Spike turned back to look at him, "C'mon Spikey" he smirked, "Who turns down a hundred dollars for the sake of spending one evening with a gorgeous young woman?" he challenged and Spike had never felt so conflicted about anything, except possibly when he'd been in that car Saturday night, with Buffy all drunk and pouting at him. On the one hand he wanted to be with Buffy, and taking her to the Homecoming Dance might not be so tragic, plus the money would come in handy for doing up his bike and maybe investing in a new guitar. His last one had got buggered on the trip from his mother's house to his uncle's and Buffy was just the inspiration he needed to start writing songs again.

"Okay" he nodded, hating himself for it already, "You got yourself a deal" he agreed as Angel handed over one hundred dollars with an evil smile. It was worth the cash to get Connor out of his life a little more, but also to see Buffy end up a little hurt and humiliated. She had made him look stupid long enough.

Spike turned and walked away, pushing the money he'd gotten from Angel into the inside pocket of his coat. He had a woman to win over now, for more than one reason. He'd been paid for a service he must perform, he'd made a promise to the little boy, Andrew, to do the same, but Spike knew the main reason he was chasing Buffy was because he wanted to, because he liked her too much already, because just maybe he loved her already.

* * *

"Buffy" Spike was outside the classroom when she emerged, eager to talk to her, but she barely glanced at him before walking away down the hall, "Luv, would you just listen to me for a second?" he called after her, but she didn't turn back, just called over her shoulder.

"I'm not your love! Leave me the hell alone!" she said angrily and Faith laughed.

"Crashed and burned, huh, Spikey?" she smirked as she made to chase after her friend. Spike caught her arm and pulled her back.

"You know her better than most, Lehane" he said with a tilt of his head, "She really hate me?"

"Maybe, maybe not" Faith shrugged, "but you lay a hand on her she might just break every bone in your hot little body" she smirked before calling for Buffy to wait up, and hurrying down the corridor after her.

"Spike!" Andrew called, looking worried as he and Xander approached, "Are things still not good with you and Buffy?" he checked, "Cos I reeeeaaally wanna take Dawnie to the Homecoming Dance"

"Don't want to screw up your plans mate but 's not lookin' promising with Big Sis right now" Spike shook his head, "She's mightily pissed still, and unless I can find a way to make it up to her without actually laying a hand on her..."

"There has to be something you can do" Xander interjected, "We got all this info, something has to be useful"

"You think of anything, Harris, make sure you let me know, alright?" Spike sighed, pushing off of the wall he'd been leaning on and walking away. Right now he needed a drink and a cigarette to calm his nerves, the giving up thing really hadn't gone too well. Buffy Summers was a right infuriating bint, but he had to think of a way to win her over. Despite their best attempts, he was fairly certain Andrew and Xander would be no use. This was something he'd have to fix alone.

* * *

Buffy was bored and not very happy. Yesterday Spike had followed her around like a lost puppy, and as annoyed and angry as she professed to be, she still kind of liked the attention. The absolute truth was, she liked Spike, a lot more than she'd ever admit, and she missed him today when he wasn't there to bother her.

There were just two hours left before the school day was over, and though she'd caught glimpses of the bleached blond, he hadn't tried to come near her or speak to her all day. Faith had made comments about him, rude and dirty comments that Buffy would rather not have heard, and the two had a bit of a falling out about it. The brunette was convinced her friend felt more for Spike than she was admitting, and pushing the point only made Buffy more mad.

As the English teacher rambled on about some boring Shakespeare play, Buffy doodled on her notebook, wishing the time away. A strange buzzing and crackling from the speaker in the corner of the room startled her slightly and caught everyone's attention. They were well used to the Principal making announcements over the intercom, and everyone groaned as they waited for the inevitable list of names who would be in detention today or the latest rule or regulation that was being imposed about smoking or litter or some such.

Nobody was expecting the voice they actually heard or the words he said.

"Hello, Sunnydale High" said the rough English accent, "This is quite obviously not your Principal speaking, but possibly the last person you were expecting to hear. In case anyone's not playing proper attention, listen up, cos this is Spike Jackson and I've got somethin' that needs sayin' and fast" Spike explained as he glanced towards the door of the Principal's office. He had just a few minutes before Wood figured out Andrew and Xander were creating a false diversion and came back to catch him.

"See, there's this girl, some of you might know her, her name's Buffy Summers" he smirked as he pictured the stunned look on her face in his head, "She's not exactly my biggest fan of late and she's not keen on listenin' to what I have to say. Figured this was one way she was guaranteed to hear me out. So anyway, this is what I've been tryin' to say for the past couple of days" he said, adjusting the guitar in his hands and beginning to play a song he'd written the night before, especially for Buffy Summers.

_"I'm so sorry if I dented your pride, girl  
__Didn't wanna use you, like those other men  
__I never knew another girl like you, babe  
__And I guess I never, ever will again"_

_"Wanna tell you what I mean now  
__But it's not easy as it seems  
__You're the only one I want, girl  
__So won't you please believe...  
__When I say I'm sorry"_

All eyes were on Buffy in Room 107 where her English class was taking place. Miss Summers herself was stunned and shocked, but in the best possible way by what Spike was doing for her. He'd written a song especially for her, and by performing it this way was risking possible expulsion if Principal Wood caught up with him. Her last shred of resolve to hate him started to slowly melt away as he continued to sing.

_"C'mon baby, tell me your not mad no more  
__Cos your loves the only thing I'll ever need  
__You might think I'm not good enough for you, girl  
__But I swear I'll try to be just what you need"_

_"Wanna tell you what I mean now  
__But it's not easy as it seems  
__You're the only one I want, girl  
__So won't you please believe...  
__When I say I'm sorry"_

As the song ended, the sounds of applause and cheering rang out through the halls of Sunnydale High and Spike grinned to himself. He'd impressed the student body it seemed, he only hoped he'd impressed Buffy. He turned suddenly when he heard someone clapping behind him and realised there was at least on person who was less impressed with his performance than they might have been.

"Bravo, Mr Jackson" Principal Wood said flatly, "I'm sure you've impressed your young lady friend"

"Bleedin' hope so, sir" Spike replied, not at all bothered about being caught it seemed, and finding it amusing that the switch on the microphone was still set so that the whole school could hear this conversation.

"I only hope you didn't make plans to meet her after school" Wood told him, "Because you're going to be in detention, for a very long time"

Buffy frowned when she heard that, hating the fact Spike had got into trouble for this. It was so sweet and perfect what he'd done for her and now he was in trouble with Wood. She was only glad it was mere detention he'd got as punishment and not expulsion, she needed a chance to talk to him now.

As the intercom was clicked off Spike hopped off the Principal's desk, looking less than pleased about his fate and the fact he'd got caught.

"Bugger it"

_To Be Continued..._


	12. Breaking Out

Chapter 12 - Breaking Out

"You're really serious about this" Faith laughed incredulously as she followed an incensed Buffy down the school hall. The final bell had rung more than ten minutes ago and almost every other student had cleared out of the High School. For once Buffy and Faith had not landed themselves in detention, but Spike had.

"You heard that song, Faith, he's in there because of me" Buffy explained to her friend, "If I'd've just listened to him before he wouldn't have detention every night this week and I'd be able to apologise to him properly"

"Okay, first off I ain't heard you apologise for jack the whole time I've known you" Faith reminded her, "and second, it was a frickin' song, B. It wasn't even that good, what is it about this guy that has you acting like a mental patient?"

Buffy sighed as they stopped walking a couple of feet from the door of the room where detention was being held.

"I don't know" she admitted, "I know he's just another guy that'll probably screw me over..."

"Only if you're lucky" Faith said suggestively, taking Buffy's words in entirely the wrong way. The blonde just rolled her eyes and continued.

"It's insane but... he matters to me, he means something, and I don't know what exactly I just know I feel stuff and... okay, so I sound like a lame fifth grader right now but I like him okay, I really like him and I want to help him out"

"Okay" Faith sighed, knowing it was pointless to continue to argue with her friend on this.

She personally did not understand all this liking to the point of loving stuff, romance was for losers as far as she was concerned. Guys were good for one thing only, and most of them weren't too good at that. She was sure Spike would be a Viking in the sack but why Buffy was getting so hot and bothered over the guy was beyond her. Still, they were friends, and she'd help her out with her little scheme today. If nothing else it was always fun to get her kicks playing up to Principal Wood. He was quite the hottie for an older guy.

"Here's what we're gonna do" Faith told her friend as they peered through the glass panel in the door, "I'll play diversion girl, you get your guy over to the window and down the fire escape. Got it?"

"I guess" Buffy shrugged, "How exactly are you gonna create a diversion?" she asked Faith, a little worried by how far she might go with this.

"Relax, B" the brunette rolled her eyes as she adjusted the strap of her bag across her shoulder, "I promise not to get arrested if you don't" she smirked before tapping on the door and barging straight in without waiting for an answer.

"Miss Lehane" Principal Wood frowned slightly as he glanced up from his desk at the approaching girl, "As surprising as it is, I wasn't actually expecting you today"

"Guess I'm just a wicked-cool surprise then, huh?" she smirked as she sruck a pose right in front of him. He glanced between the desk and Faith, giving Buffy a few seconds to sneak in the door.

There were only five kids in detention today, and none of them were likely to tell if they saw what Faith and Buffy were doing, especially not Spike who was half way down one side of the room, picking at his black nail polish and not paying much attention to anything. The next row over from him was Charles Gunn, who was no doubt in detention for the latest fight he'd got into, and over on the other side of the room was Anya, who had the less than flattering reputation of the school bike - almost every guy having had a ride over the past year. Further back in the room was Illyria who had no doubt told some teacher how insignificant they and their class were, and her little friend Knox was sat beside her. He wasn't a bad guy so much but he adored Illyria and so often ended up in trouble whenever she was, just for being on her side. Though Buffy wasn't exactly best friends with any of them they were unlikely to scupper her plan, after all it was entertaining when anyone got away with something like this right under the Principal's nose.

"As nice as it is to have you here with us, Faith" Wood smiled warily at her, "I don't believe I have you on my list" he said, glancing down at the page on the desk in front of him.

"Well, y'know you should, I'm a very naughty girl" Faith told him, leaning over the desk in such a way so that he got a good view of her assets as Buffy ducked behind desks, making her way down the side of the room to where Spike was. He jumped slightly when he spotted her and she shushed him fast when he opened his mouth to speak.

Checking the Principal wasn't looking, the bleached blond glanced down at Buffy and mouthed his question to her silently.

"What are you doing?"

"Breaking you out" she 'said' back to him with a smile as she watched Faith perch herself on the edge of the desk, blocking Woods' view of the left side of the room. Spike slid out of his chair in one fluid movement, trying not to make a sound as the rest of the detentionees spotted what he was doing. Gunn smirked as he glanced between Faith showing it all off to a bemused Wood, and Buffy and Spike inching towards the window at the side of the room.

"Really, Faith, I'm not sure what it is you want but..." the Principal began, looking like he was about to stand up. The brunette pushed herself further towards him over the desk, putting her hand on his shoulder to keep him in his seat, if he stood up he'd easily spot the two blondes escaping.

"Ain't it obvious what I want?" she asked him with a smirk. She'd always thought Robin Wood was way hot for an older guy, and as much as she was kind of acting right now, she could seriously consider taking it all the way if he would.

"Miss Lehane" Wood said, closing his eyes to keep his composure. He may be a school Principal but he wasn't blind to the fact that Faith was an extremely attractive and sexy young woman, still he had to keep his head in this kind of situation, "Not that I'm not flattered, I mean obviously you're a... charming girl" he opted for.

Spike stifled a laugh at that as he swung his legs out of the open window, out onto the fire escape. Buffy was about to do the same, when Principal Wood pushed himself to his feet. In a panic Faith scrambled up too and did the only thing she could think of guaranteed to avert the Principal's attention from the window - she pulled up her top and flashed him.

Buffy was too busy scrambling out of the window as quickly and quietly as possible to know what her friend had done, but Spike told her as they ran down the fire escape hand in hand, the loud reactions of the detenionees and the Principal still audible as they descended.

* * *

"S'pose I ought to thank your mate Faithie for doing such a good job of busting me out of detention" Spike smirked as he and Buffy sat in the food court of the Sunnydale Mall. With no real idea of where they were going the young couple had just started walking until they got hungry and then found the nearest place to get food.

"Thank her?" Buffy scoffed, "All she did was flutter her eyelashes at the Principal, and hello, she does that everyday anyway" she explained.

"So this was all your plan then?" Spike checked as he stared at her across the table, head tilting to one side as he watched her stir her ice-cream around in the dish, "Knew you didn't hate me that much, can't do if you're risking life and limb to get me out of there"

"It's not like it's a big deal" Buffy shrugged, finding it weird how embarrassed and uncomfortable this guy could make her feel, "You did something nice for me, the song and everything, so I did you a favour" she explained, making Spike smirk.

"Ought to be nice to you more often then" he said, sipping his drink, "Like the idea of you owing me favours, pet"

"Don't think this means I like you or anything" Buffy scoffed, though she couldn't look him in the eye when she said it, "I just felt kinda bad for you getting stuck in detention when you were trying to do something nice for me is all" she shrugged, "Did you... did you really write that song for me?" she checked, glancing up at him through her eyelashes and feeling so girly and silly right now.

"That I did, luv" he nodded, "Seemed you weren't too eager to listen when I tried talkin' to you. Figured you couldn't avoid me if I was broadcasting to the whole bloody school" he smirked, "First song I've written it a long while but then there's nothin' like a beautiful young woman to get the inspiration flowing" he told her, his compliments making her blush, though she tried to hide it.

"You think all these compliments are gonna get you anywhere you are so mistaken" she shook her head, smiling as she got out some cash and they both paid for their food and drink. Pulling her jacket back on, Buffy began walking and Spike dutifully followed.

"So where to now then?" he asked as they continued to walk through the mall.

Buffy was about to say she didn't know or care when a store caught her eye, she hadn't realised they'd walked this far down.

"Oh, I love this place" she enthused, grabbing Spike's arm and forcibly dragging him into 'Ethan's Records'. The sign in the window, which Spike barely got to read as he was bundled through the door stated the store was selling old, used, and rare CDs and records. Sounded like his kind of place too.

"Decent place this" he commented as they moved down the shelves.

"Oh please, this stuff is as old as my mother" Buffy scoffed, looking entirely unimpressed by the particular titles Spike was looking at, "I mean, what kinda name for a band is The Sex Pistols anyway?" she rolled her eyes, unable to hold in a laugh when she caught sight of Spike's incredulous expression.

"They are classic, little girl" he told her firmly, "Not like the crap boybands and such of today"

"I am so not boyband girl" Buffy told him, just as steadfastly, "You don't know me well enough to know that, then you don't know me at all" she said, folding her arms over her chest and turning away to look at some other CDs in the section marked 'Limited Editions'.

Spike rolled his eyes and followed her, opting for the opposite end of the alphabet to Buffy.

"Honestly, you think The Sex Pistols is a stupid name, get a load of some of these" he laughed, "What sort of a name for a band is 'Vamp Attack'?"

"Oh my God, are you crazy!" Buffy yelled all of a sudden, making him jump, "Tell me that's not what I think it is in your hand!" she asked, eyes wide as she practically bounced on the spot trying to see the red coloured CD case Spike held in his hand.

"Depends on what you think it is, luv?" he asked, smirking at her childish behaviour and deliberately holding the CD away from her.

"A Limited Edition copy of Vamp Attack's greatest album 'Blood Lust'!" she said, eyes almost wild as she tried desperately to get the album from his hand, "They broke up the day before it officially got released, and everywhere sold out within hours!" she was practically screaming by now and Spike found it very amusing as he held the CD over his head where she couldn't reach it no matter how hard she tried.

"Well, I could hand it over, I s'pose" he smirked, "If you asked me nicely"

Buffy looked daggers at him as he grinned, looking all smug and annoying, and somehow incredibly sexy at the same time. She wanted that CD, and she could easily get it, all she had to do was execute a couple of well practised martial arts moved, and Spike would be flat on his back in seconds. That thought twisted itself around in her mind and she smiled slightly at the thought of getting this guy flat on his back in other non-fighty ways. It was only when she blinked her way back to reality she realised she had him backed against the shelves, her body pressed close to his as her hand reached for the disc in his hand.

"Give it to me" she said, more softly than she'd meant to, and in such a way as her words might be taken in a completey different context to that which she intended, "Please" she added, unsure by now whether she was talking about the CD anymore as Spike's blue eyes bored into her own. In one swift and sudden movement he brought his lips down onto hers and kissed her hungrily. She responded instantly, unable to fight what he made her feel any longer.

Their arms wrapped around each others bodies as various other shoppers looked on, one of the younger boys wolf-whistling when he saw the passionate display. Still Buffy and Spike did not part, and the CD in his hand seemed entirely forgotten for a while.

When they finally broke for air Buffy smiled and then laughed slightly.

"What's amusing you so much then, luv?" Spike asked her with a smirk, "Would've thought I was the one who should be laughing. Just proved myself right about you, didn't I?"

"Maybe" she conceded, forehead still touching his as she got her breath back, "But I just proved how easy you are to play" she giggled as she showed him the CD he'd been holding before, now in her own hand. As glorious as their kissing had been, she was aware enough of the world to extract the disc from his fingers.

She giggled in uncharacteristically girly fashion as she pulled from his grasp and hurried towards the counter to purchase the item. Spike yelled after her what a 'bloody minx' she was as he followed her through the store, threatening to exact revenge for her crime when he caught up with her. Buffy planned on getting caught on purpose, since it seemed his revenge was likely to be as sweet for her as it was for him.

_To Be Continued..._


	13. Falling In

Chapter 13 - Falling In

Buffy was vaguely starting to wonder where her sanity had gone to as she walked from the Sunnydale Mall towards her house. In one hand she grasped a bag that contained a couple of CDs, one of which was to be her prize possession from now on. Buying Vamp Attack music from the mall was sane enough for Miss Buffy Summers, what worried her was that her other hand was currently held in that of a young man named Spike whom she could see even now was grinning like a Cheshire cat as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

She couldn't help but smile herself as she thought of the last few hours, breaking this guy out of detention and running off to the mall where they behaved like a pair of lovesick teens, running around and kissing in the music store. Maybe that was exactly what they were, lovesick teens, they were the right age at least, but it was a long time since Buffy had ever let herself get this close to a guy. Whether she was in love or not, she didn't know, for now she was just enjoying the fun while it lasted.

"Come on then, pet, next question?" Spike prompted her when she was quiet too long. They'd started a little game on the way to her house from the mall. It was kind of like Truth or Dare, but neither could be bothered to go for the option of a forfeit. Both were eager to out do the other by asking questions the other would surely refuse to answer, but so far both had been terribly honest with amusing results at times.

"The accent" Buffy said, sparing him a glance, "Is it real?"

"Real as I am" Spike smirked at her, "My parents are English, I was born and brought up there. Dad pissed off when I was a nipper, Mum raised me best she could, til I got to be too much of a handful and got shipped out her to live with her brother, my Uncle Giles" he rolled his eyes.

"Huh" was all Buffy could find to say to that. She hadn't really thought much about Spike having a family or a life, beyond what she saw at school when he was following her around like a black clad, bleached blond lost puppy of some kind.

"So, ultimate question for you, luv" he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye as they turned into Revello Drive, "Why the attitude? Some bugger must've hurt you I reckon, for you to be so anti fellas in general"

Buffy thought about her answer for a while and then sighed before she spoke.

"I guess it's my Mom" she admitted, looking down at the ground as they walked, "My Dad left before I was born, and then Dawnie's before she was hardly a year old, then there was... other stuff" she said vaguely, still very uncomfortable talking about Angel, even with Spike whom she knew she trusted and liked more than most people she'd met in her life, "There's kind of a lot of evidence to suggest the average man is non-trustworthy" she shrugged.

"On behalf of my gender, thank you very much, pet" Spike said sarcastically, but smiled when she looked over at him to show he was joking and not really offended. He wasn't exactly a fan of his father either, and since Buffy was here right now, and he was the one she'd been kissing all but senseless more than once in the past few hours, he figured she didn't count him in with the louts she and her mother had dealt with before.

"Your turn" Spike prompted when the thoughtful silence went on too long. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable like this, he hadn't meant to upset her at all, and figured putting the attention back on himself was the best plan. She smiled as she thought of her next question.

"Did you really attack a teacher at your old school with pruning shears?" she checked and Spike laughed.

"Thought you of all people would know better than to listen to those rumours, pet" he said as they reached her gate and he opened it for her.

"That's not answering my question" she pointed out as they walked down the path and sat down together on the front porch step.

"No, I didn't attack the teacher with pruning shears" he said solemnly, before a smirk broke through his serious expression, "Just said I would if he kept pissing me off" he admitted, making Buffy bust up laughing. Some of the things he'd done were not so dissimilar to her own crimes, and with his Dad having left when he was a kid too, it seemed she and Spike had quite a bit in common really.

"Okay then, what about you?" he said, tilting his head as he stared at her, "These tales I've been hearing about you burning down a school building"

"That is sooo not true" Buffy denied, still smiling as she explained, "That was all Faith, telling me I should start smoking when I started hanging with her"

"Thought you hated smokers" he said without thinking, and she nodded her head.

"After that incident I do" she agreed, "We were in such a hurry to dump the cigarette when the bell rang, we didn't put it out properly. The corner of the gym was ablaze before any alarms went off and apparently someone had seen me around there a few minutes before, so I got the blame"

"Well, you're one up on me, pet" Spike smirked, "Been done for crimes enough, but I never went for arson"

"It was not arson" she protested, shoving him playfully in the shoulder, "It was an accident. Anyway, it's my turn now and I have something I wanna know" she told him, leaning in incredibly close.

"What's that then, luv?" he asked, eyes flickering between her own and her lips as she got closer to him. She knew what he was thinking, but she was just teasing him because it was fun.

"Spike" she said softly, before her ordinary tone returned and she sat up sharply, "What's really in that black book you carry around at school?" she asked, hopping off the steps onto her feet and laughing at his confused expression that she hadn't kissed him and asked him if he wanted to come inside like he'd expected.

"You're a bloody pain in the ass, d'you know that Summers?" he told her with faux-annoyance. In all honesty, he liked her like this. Sure the fighting was fun, and she really got him going when she was threatening to kick him into next week, but having her like this, all laughter and smiles, that was nice too, in a different way. He could almost love her like this, in fact he was fairly certain he did already.

"Answer the question, _William_" she emphasised the real name she knew he would despise her using and waited for his response. There was a playfully evil glint in his eye as he jumped from the porch with feline grace and made a grab at her. She ran from him laughing as he gave chase and soon had her pinned to a tree in the yard.

"You just gonna stand there staring all day or are you gonna kiss me already?" Buffy asked him, breathing a little more heavily than usual, partly from the sudden movement, but mostly from the anticipation of being kissed by this man again.

Playing her at her own game, Spike leaned in incredibly close as if to put his lips to hers, but stopped just short and moved to whisper in her ear.

"The book" he smirked, "is nothin' more sinister than you learn in English class, pet. It's poetry" he told her, finding her stunned expression highly amusing for a few seconds, before he did what she'd been waiting for and a kissed her with a passion. He'd just destroyed his reputation with Buffy, but she had done the same, and somehow it felt nice to have someone to share secrets with. Of course he still had one secret he couldn't share and that was why he asked Buffy out in the first place. Angelus and his bloody money, daft little Andrew and his obsession with a girl too good for him. Those were the reasons Spike had first chased after Buffy Summers, but over the time he'd realised he had genuine feelings for her, that maybe now he really loved her.

"You're frowning" the girl in question noted as they parted for air, "Something wrong?" she checked, half afraid it was her, or something. Wondering if maybe this was the part where Spike said today had been fun but he had other girls to see, better, prettier ones, that'd go further than she would...

"Not so as you'd notice, pet" Spike told her, managing a smile as he looked down at her. She was beautiful, it was all he could think as she stared up at him with bright eyes and a nervous smile. She pretended to be so hard and tough, she was just a girl underneath it all, a girl he was falling a little more in love with everyday.

"I was... I wanted to ask you another question" he said eventually, hating himself because it would seem like he was doing exactly what Angelus and Andrew wanted, but also really wanting to do it for himself too, "'S about Homecoming"

"No" she said sharply, face hardening as she pushed him aside and headed towards he house.

"No?" Spike called after her, "You didn't hear the bloody question yet" he pointed out.

"Maybe not, but I don't need to" she snapped as she turned back to look at him, arms folded firmly across her chest, "I don't do school dances, Spike, and I don't see why you would want to either"

"Well, normally I wouldn't" he admitted, "but I never had such a gorgeous and special lady to go with before" he smiled, stepping towards her and reaching for her hand, but she backed away further.

"I'm not... I don't want to, okay?" she said defensively, "Why are you making a big deal out of this?"

"Just thought you'd want to, is all" he snapped back at her, not really understanding her attitude. She liked him, he knew it, and she'd certainly proved it today, what with the break out from detention and then spending all afternoon with him, kissing and all.

"Yeah, well, maybe you don't know me as well as you thought" Buffy told him, still looking angry, "Maybe you shouldn't presume that you know me at all"

"Oh fine, bloody marvellous, pet" Spike half-yelled, quite annoyed by her attitude and by the fact she was not only screwing up his plans but also poor little Andrew and Dawn. The Angelus lads, well, he was happy to put their noses out of joint, but he had been paid for a service and Spike Jackson was not one to go back on his word, "Y'know I sometimes wonder why I bother with bints like you" he sighed, and Buffy hated him for it.

He'd really made her feel like she mattered today, like she was special to him, and when he'd kissed her, she didn't have words for how good it made her feel. Now he was spoiling it all by talking about school dances and implying she might not be worth his efforts. When Buffy was hurt she lashed out, it was the only way she knew to react.

"You're a pig, Spike" she snapped, "And if you're not out of my yard in ten seconds, I'll throw you out myself"

The look in her eyes told Spike she was deadly serious and whilst he was fairly certain he could hold his own if she came at him in any kind of violent way, the last thing he wanted to do was fight with her anymore. He opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind, turning towards the gate with a sigh. He didn't see the tears come to Buffy's eyes and spill down her cheeks as she watched him walk away.

* * *

Joyce was not exactly happy when a young man named Andrew showed up on her doorstep on Wednesday evening. Of course, Dawn had told her he was coming and why - to help her with her algebra study. Since it was for school work, her mother couldn't really argue and they'd promised it work at the table right by the kitchen door so she could see and hear everything they did, should she wish to.

They'd been working for an hour when Joyce realised she would have to go out to the store. She entrusted Buffy with the task of watching her sister but the blonde was soon bored of that task and locked herself in her bedroom with her new Vamp Attack CD playing full blast. Now alone with Andrew, Dawn couldn't stop smiling. She was sure he'd been waiting for an opportunity to ask her to the Homecoming Dance, but after ten minutes in which he continued to go over and over the math they'd been studying she was getting annoyed and wondering if she was wrong.

"Er, Andrew" she interrupted, "My Mom is out and Buffy's locked in her room... Didn't you have something to say to me?"

"Um... about math?" he asked, looking nervous. He really liked Dawn and he so wanted to ask her to Homecoming, but since the kiss he shared with her that night after the party at the Bronze, they'd seemed to be nothing more than friends and he'd seen her talking and laughing with Connor Angelus a couple of times.

"No, about other stuff" Dawn prompted, "Maybe about Homecoming?" she said hopefully. Connor had asked her but she'd not given him a definite answer. She'd come so close to saying yes when she'd spotted Andrew across the quad and realised she really liked him too, and would probably be more thrilled if he asked her to Homecoming. Connor seemed different somehow since their semi-date at the Bronze before. As wrong as it was, she was keeping him hanging on, just in case Andrew had decided she wasn't worth the trouble anymore, but she really, really hoped he'd ask her.

"I don't think... I don't know..." he rambled nervously, looking away, "Could I maybe have a cool, refreshing Zima?" he asked and a storm cloud seemed to pass over Dawn's previously sunny expression as she stormed through to the kitchen. Hating that she looked upset, Andrew went after her, asking what might be wrong, making the youngest Summers laugh humourlessly.

"You really don't get it, do you?" she said, shaking her head, "The first time I actually get to date and the guy I like doesn't even..." she stopped when she realised she'd just admitted to liking Andrew. It came as a slight surprise to herself as well as to him that she really cared that much.

"So, um... You wanna go to Homecoming with me?" Andrew said quickly, fiddling with the edge of a pile of dishtowels on the counter top. Despite the fact Dawn had practically told him she wanted him to ask, he was still ridiculously worried she'd say no. He was a little surprised when he glanced up and found her standing right in front of him.

"Yes, Andrew" Dawn smiled, "I would love to go to the Homecoming Dance with you"

"Neato" was his silly response that made her giggle.

_To Be Continued..._


	14. Truth Be Told

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 14 - The Truth Be Told

"Mooom" Dawn stretched out the simple one syllable word til it became it's own sentence. Joyce looked up from the food she was preparing and eyed her younger daughter suspiciously.

"Did you want something, sweetheart?" she asked with a slightly amused expression. she had thought that at fifteen and almost eighteen her girls had passed their whiny teen phases, but it seemed she was wrong.

"Well, see, there's this dance coming up" the brunette began to explain, taking a seat at the counter opposite where her mother stood chopping vegetables, "It's for Homecoming, and I reeeeaaallly wanna go" she told Joyce who's smile was starting to wane, "It's kind of a miracle that anybody even asked me but they did and Andrew is such a nice guy Mom, I mean you met him, you know he's great"

"He might be a good enough tutor for you, Dawn, but other than that..." Mrs Summers shook her head, causing Dawn to make a face. Clearly her mother was not about to be easily convinced when it came to her dating Andrew, or any guy for that matter, still she had to try.

"But Mom, this is the first dance I ever got asked to, and it'd be safe, I swear" she pleaded and Joyce glanced at her before going back to the food.

"We had a deal, and I won't go back on it" she nodded, though she didn't look happy, "If Buffy is going, then I guess you can too but..."

"Um, see, that's kinda the issue" Dawn interrupted, looking pained, "Buffy got asked to the Homecoming Dance, but she's such a big freak she said no, even though she and Spike were totally macking in the back yard and..."

"She and Spike were..." Joyce's eyes went wide and the knife that had been in her hand clattered to the floor. She held onto the counter top and breathed deeply, telling herself not to panic. Buffy was practically a fully grown adult now, and besides she'd only kissed this boy so far... she hoped.

"I wouldn't worry, Mom, she totally blew him out when he asked her to the dance yesterday" Dawn rolled her eyes, thinking how stupid her sister must be. Spike was so much the hottie, in that punkish badass kinda way. It was totally beyond Dawn how anyone, even her freakish sister, couldn't find him attractive and want to spend every minute possible with him.

"Well then, we don't have a problem" Joyce reminded her, "If Buffy isn't going to the dance then you're not either" she said simply, turning away to continue cooking the family meal.

"But Mom, you cannot do this to me!" Dawn squealed, voice rising til only dogs could hear her, "I can't not go! I promised Andrew, and it's only one night, just a few hours..."

"Dawn, I don't want to hear it" Joyce told her, getting annoyed, "I changed the rules because you begged me to, and you and Buffy both agreed. Both of you go out or neither does, that's the way it is whilst you live in my house"

Dawn's eyes filled with tears as she struggled to find a suitable argument, but it was futile and she knew it. With a little sound of upset and anger she stormed out of the kitchen, letting the door slam behind her as she bolted up the stairs, just as Buffy let herself in the back door.

"What's going on?" she frowned and her mother sighed.

"Dawn wants to go to some dance, and I reminded her of the rule of this house" she explained, "If you're not going, which apparently you're not, she's not going either"

"I am so not going" Buffy agreed immediately, "It's so lame. I have better ways to spend tomorrow night" she said, as she passed through the kitchen and headed upstairs behind her sister.

Though she meant what she said in some ways, in others she knew it was all a lie. It might've been fun to go to the Homecoming Dance with Spike, it was starting to seem as though everything was more fun when he was around, but memories of a previous Homecoming Dance that didn't end so well made her almost fear attending another. As she reached the landing she paused by Dawn's bedroom door, hearing her sisters painful sobs. Though they didn't seem to get on so well, the Summers girls still loved each other, and when one knew the other as suffering it was impossible to feel good about that.

With a sigh, Buffy went closer to the door and tapped on the wood.

"Dawnie?" she called softly as she let herself into the room. Dawn was face down on her bed, crying into the covers.

"Go away!" she yelled, but the blonde ignored her and came further into the room, dumping her jacket and bag on the floor, and sitting down beside her sister on the bed.

"I'm sorry I ruined your chance to go to the Homecoming Dance" she said sincerely, and immediately the younger girl was sitting up and looking daggers at her through red-rimmed, blood-shot eyes.

"You're not sorry" she shook her head, "You don't care about me, or what I want. You only care about yourself!" she said nastily, and Buffy's face hardened at the accusation.

"That's not true" she insisted, "I just... I don't wanna see you get hurt, Dawnie" she reached a hand out to the younger girls head but she shied away.

"Why would I get hurt?" she shook her head, "You think you're the only one who knows how to defend herself against guys, just cos you take all your classes in whatever the hell it is you and your slutty friend do"

"Don't talk about Faith that way" Buffy snapped, though she knew the description of her friend was true, "And I'm not just talking about guys going further than you want... Sometimes you can think you want it too, and then... well, you don't know Connor that well and..."  
"You don't know him either" Dawn argued, though of course the younger Angelus boy wasn't even an issue at this point, since she wanted to attend the dance with Andrew. The point was she disliked her sister trying to control what she did and would argue at every turn til she felt better.

"I know Angel" Buffy reminded her sister, looking down at her hands in her lap, "I know him better than I wish I did..." her voice got quieter, til her sentence trailed away completely and Dawn frowned. Her sister didn't do quiet and almost worried, not lately anyway. She said what she meant and she meant what she said, that was just the way she was these days.

"I don't... What do you mean?" the younger girl asked and Buffy got up from the bed crossing to the window and looking out at the darkening sky.

Today was not going well, she thought to herself. She'd spent her whole time at school avoiding talking to Spike after the incident yesterday where things had gone so well and then suddenly so bad. She wasn't sure if he'd tried to find her and talk to her at all, if he had it wasn't obvious.

Now she had to tell her sister something she'd never told anyone, not even her mother, not even Faith. In the end it was probably for the best that Dawnie knew but...

"Okay" Buffy sighed eventually, "I'll tell you, but this stays between us" she said, glancing back at her sister who nodded dumbly, almost afraid of what she might be about to hear.

"Okay" Buffy said again, before she began her story, "It was my first Homecoming Dance at Sunnydale High, and I was so excited" she smiled at the memory as she went back to staring out of the window, "I was pretty popular back then and it wasn't a huge surprise when Angel asked me. I said yes right away, without a care. He was gorgeous and sweet and all I wanted was to be with him" she shook her head, now not really knowing how she could ever have been so stupid, "Things were awkward with Mom even then. One hint of an idea that I might be going on a date, and World War Three would've started right there and then, so I didn't tell her" she sighed, looking back at her sister, "You remember that trip you took to Aunt Joan's place?" Buffy asked and Dawn looked thoughtful before she nodded.

"We were all supposed to go for the weekend but you begged Mom to let you stay over at Willow's" she recalled, "You'd promised to do a project or something lame like that"

"There was no project" Buffy told her, "I wanted so badly to go to Homecoming with Angel, and it seemed like everything was working out so perfectly. He picked me up from the Rosenburgs house, and he was going to drop me back there after" she smiled sadly, "That was the part that got kinda messed" she admitted as she sat down beside Dawn on the bed once again.

All kinds of awful things were now running through Dawn's head, terrible things that might've happened to her sister. None of them were true of course, which she was about to find out.

"We had a great time at the dance" Buffy went on to explain, "We even got Homecoming King and Queen, and I thought I could never be that happy again. It was like this magical night, I felt like a princess. Angel said I looked like one" she recalled, "He said I was the most beautiful girl in the world, and that he loved me so much... all he ever wanted to do was show me how much" she looked up from her hands that played with the edge of the comforter and met her sisters eyes, the look she gave her conveying her true meaning.

"You and Angel?" Dawn gasped, more than a little stunned, "You...? When you were...?"

"We were fourteen" Buffy said, feeling a little ashamed of herself if she was honest, "I hadn't really known him all that long, to be honest now I look back I didn't know him at all, but he was saying everything I wanted to hear, all about love and happily ever after endings" she said, trying to hide the tremor in her voice, she hated to think of what she'd allowed him to do, "We came back here, the house was empty, and he... stayed the night" she explained, without actually saying the words that were so disgusting even in her own head.

"I'm not saying he made me" Buffy assured her sister, who's mouth was opening and closing like a landed fish by now, "I wanted it too, and it wasn't the worst thing ever but, it wasn't the greatest either. I went to sleep in his arms, and woke up alone, without even a note to explain where he'd gone"

"Maybe he just..." Dawn began, only to be interrupted by her sister.

"Maybe there was an emergency, maybe he was worried about Mom catching us, maybe he felt too much for me and he was scared" she shook her head, "Dawnie, I thought all of it, all day, all weekend. I tried calling him but he was never around, and by the time we got to school on Monday things were... different"

"He dumped you?" Dawn checked, thinking it was a little weird, she was sure Buffy had dumped Angel, or they'd just grown apart or something.

"Not exactly" Buffy said sadly, "He just never really talked to me again, and when I finally managed to confront him about what had happened, he... well he wasn't exactly complimentary, about that night or anything else" she explained.

"Wow" Dawn was stunned by the revelations she'd just heard, "How did I not know this?" she asked.

"You were too young, Dawnie" Buffy reminded her, "At twelve and with Mom and her anti-guy speeches, you'd barely noticed that boys were for dating" she smiled, "But now it's time I told you, time you understood. Guys aren't perfect, especially not guys named Angelus" she told her, a little surprised to see Dawn's expression grown angry.

"That's not fair" she snapped, "You can't say Connor would use me, or anybody, just because Angel used you"

It didn't matter really, she didn't plan on dating Connor anymore anyway, but he was still a nice guy and she didn't like her friends being put down by her sister, no matter what had happened in the past.

"Dawn, he does everything Angel tells him" Buffy pointed out, "And even if he didn't, he's still a guy, and deep down they're all..."

"No" the brunette interrupted, "You can't say they're all like that, you don't know" she half-yelled, annoyed that for just a couple of minutes she'd managed to get a decent conversion out of her sister and now suddenly they were back to how they always were, Buffy being anti-men psycho bitch girl.

"I just... I just wanted you to know" the blonde sighed, she couldn't argue over this. She'd told Dawn the truth and there was no more she could say right now. She just had to hope she'd shocked her enough with tales of her own life to stop her from being so naive.

Buffy left her sisters room and went to her own, tears filling her eyes as she sat on her own bed, running her hands back through her hair and trying to be calm. She hated Angel for what he'd done to her, what he'd taken from her. It was because of him, and her mother's attitude, that she'd became what she was now, hard and cold with almost everybody.

Spike made her feel like the old Buffy, the one that knew how to fall in love, and how to be happy. The black cloud that lived over her head went away when she was with him, the sun shone brighter than it ever had before and as cliché as it sounded she felt like she could do anything when she was in his arms.

Maybe she was stupid for saying no when he asked her to Homecoming. The likelihood of him acting the way Angel did was as close to zero as was humanly possible, and even if he did turn out to be bad, she wouldn't be so easily led astray this time.

Dawn was crying again, Buffy could hear her even at this distance. She wanted her to understand, but it didn't seem as if she did. Now it seemed like everybody was going to suffer, herself, her sister, Spike, Connor. All of them were innocent, or at least they seemed to be so far. Buffy couldn't judge Dawn's choice of boyfriend, she really didn't know him, and it was unfair to all concerned to make comparisons.

Angel was not a good enough reason to ruin a night that should be so perfect for everybody, and the sudden realisation that he might be winning somehow if she didn't go to Homecoming made Buffy more angry than upset.

"No way" she said angrily, reaching for her cellphone. Her finger paused over the numbers as she checked one last time if this was really what she wanted to do, and then she dialled the number.

_To Be Continued..._


	15. Homecoming

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 15 - Homecoming

Joyce was just enjoying a glass of wine as she watched a documentary on TV that she'd been looking forward to, when a clatter at the top of the stairs caught her attention. She turned her head just in time to see Buffy coming down into the hallway, trying to put the high-heeled shoes back on that had hampered her walking down the steps in the first place.

"Buffy?" Joyce frowned as she got up and came over to her. It looked a little like her eldest daughter but she was sure she hadn't seen the blonde in a dress like this since she was little. Silky fabric clung to her body at the top and then splayed out at the bottom, shining pale pink or gold depending on how the light caught it. Her hair was piled up on her head in a pretty style, with tiny flowers running through it, and her make-up had been subtly applied.

"Hey Mom" Buffy smiled uncertainly as she finished forcing her shoes back on, straightened out her dress and checked the contents of her purse, "Oh, yeah, I'm kinda going to the Homecoming Dance " she told her startled mother, glancing at the clock, "And I really should be gone by now, so I'll see ya later" she said, kissing Joyce on the cheek and hurrying to the front door, "Don't wait up!" she called behind her before the door clicked shut.

"What...?" was all Joyce managed to say before her younger daughter appeared, also in a dress and grown-up hairstyle, all ready for the Homecoming Dance it would seem.

"Thanks Buffy, don't wait or anything" Dawn sighed to herself as she reached the bottom of the stairs where her mother was still standing, and staring.

"Dawn, what on Earth is going on?" she asked quite confused.

"Oh yeah" the young brunette grinned, realising her mother didn't have all the information right now, "Buffy kinda decided she wanted to go to the Dance with Spike after all, and since she was going that meant I could too, cos y'know, that's the rule and all" she smiled, loving the fact she was able to go to Homecoming like she'd promised Andrew. As if thinking of him summoned him to the house, the boy knocked on the door at that very moment and Dawn moved to let him in.

"Wow" he said when he saw his date, in her elegant blue dress that made her look so grown up and sophisticated, "You look amazing" he told her with a smile, causing Dawn to blush.

"Thanks" she said, ducking her face behind her hair, "You look great too, but we should really go" she said, noting her mother's still stunned expression and not wanting to wait for her to snap out of it.

Despite the deal that had been made, saying that Dawn could date if Buffy did, the littlest Summers really didn't want to hang around and risk another change in the rules. With a quick yell of goodbye to her mother, Dawn grabbed Andrew's hand and hurried him away from the house. Tonight was going to be so great!

* * *

Spike felt a little out of place as he waited in the hall outside the main gym where the Homecoming Dance was being held. He hadn't worn a tux since he was seven and his mother had taken him to her best friends wedding. He hadn't minded quite so much then, he'd felt so grown up and important, now he just felt ridiculous and stupidly nervous that his date might not even show up. This was hardly her scene, and it certainly wasn't his, but Buffy had called him up and apologised for her behaviour, saying she'd love to go to Homecoming with him if he still wanted too.

As much as Spike agreed because he did indeed want to, he knew he couldn't say no anyway. Angel had paid him to be here with Buffy tonight, and Andrew was counting on him too. He felt sick as he realised that at some point Buffy was bound to find out how this whole thing had started. Spike only hoped that by that time, she would realise his love now was real, and all that had gone before with the money and sordid deals didn't matter.

"Hey there, handsome" said a voice behind him and Spike turned around to find the very girl he'd been thinking about standing right behind him, looking more beautiful than she ever had before if it were possible.

"Bloody hell, luv" he smiled as he looked her over, head tilting to one side as he did so, "You scrub up soddin' well" he smirked.

"Well, you don't look so bad either" she admitted, reaching out to straighten his collar that had got a little crumpled, "I guess it's not a big deal for you, since black is kind of your colour" she smirked.

"Gotta say, didn't think pink was yours" he told her, hands going to her waist as her arms went up around his neck, "But you look stunning, pet, really you do"

"Yeah, well" she said, a little uncomfortable about compliments still, "This stunning girl is thirsty, so how about we get into that dance and find some punch or something?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, luv" Spike agreed, kissing her briefly before taking hold of her hand and leading her into the highly-decorated gym.

The dance was soon in full swing and most people were having a good time. It didn't take long for Spike and Buffy to spot Faith who was getting up close and personal with some guy who might have been a member of the football team, or possibly the swim team, neither Buffy or Spike cared enough about the in-crowd to be able to identify each person, they were all just a bunch of sheep, but Faith wasn't so bothered by the many categories the students of Sunnydale High fell into. She was just out for a good time and from the looks of things that's what she was going to get with this guy.

"Now I see how she got her reputation" Spike smirked as she danced close with Buffy, one eye on Faith in her short, slutty, black attire, rubbing up against nameless jock guy, both of them making their intentions all too clear.

"Yeah" Buffy rolled her eyes at her friend, before switching her attention back to her date and making sure he was paying attention to her too, "How about you?" she smiled but Spike didn't understand.

"How about me, what, luv?" he checked as they moved around the dance floor with their arms around each other.

"Well, I've heard all the stories, you told me yourself some of them aren't true" Buffy explained, "So how did you get this bad ass rep you have?" she was interested to know, "When really, underneath it all, you're such a sweet guy" she smiled, kissing him softly.

"Sweet now am I?" he smirked, both of them talking quietly so no-one else heard, "'S not what the girls used to say about me. Right bloody geek I was" he admitted, to her surprise, "Got sick of that though, bein' treated like a doormat and all. Decided to start fightin' back against the world. I changed my image, the hair, the coat, got into some punk music and told a few untruths to the right people. Before you know it, rumour has it I'm the biggest bad ass in the northern hemisphere" he shrugged, making Buffy giggle.

"You never did anything, did you?" she said, still laughing, "No fights, no crime"

"Oh I did things, pet" he assured her, "Not absolutely everything is as fake as the blond hair" he smirked, "but 'm not the sod people think I am"

"I know that" Buffy nodded as they drifted closer together once again, and enjoyed another kiss as they swayed to the music.

* * *

"What the hell is going on!" Angel said angrily as he stormed across the room towards the doors, abandoning Darla, his exchange-student date that he'd got last minute when he realised it was impossible for him to bring the woman he really wanted to a High School dance.

"Angel, breathe" Cordy told him, putting a hand on his chest as he reached her and Connor who looked more than a little bit awkward. He'd called his step-mother shortly after he'd arrived at Dawn's house and was told by her mother that Dawn had already left for the dance with Andrew. Cordy was supposed to just come pick Connor up and take him home but instead she's arrived in a dress fit for a fairytale ball, telling the boy she would be his date for the dance and kissed him til he couldn't think straight enough to argue. It was sort of weird for him, entering the hall with his mother-figure on his arm, but she looked so stunning and was actually nearer high school age than her husbands, he was also very proud to be see with her.

"Angel" Cordy said as she took him to one side for a moment, whispering so Connor wouldn't hear, "That little Summers bitch was already gone when he got to her house, you didn't expect him to stay home and cry about it, did you?"

"I didn't expect to see you and him together on a date, Cordy!" Angel seethed, "Not after what we said" he looked both hurt and angry as Connor approached them, wondering why his brother was looking at Cordy like he was, and had hold of her wrist so tight.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking between them and his step-mother painted on a smile as she turned to look at him.

"Nothing, sweetie" she assured him, giving Angel a look that told him to let go of her and he did so even though he wasn't happy about it, "Angel was just worried you might be embarrassed having me here with you, instead of a proper date" she rolled her eyes.

"You look gorgeous, Cordy" Connor promised her, "Way better than the girls here, cos you're a real woman" he said with a look in eyes that Angel didn't like. What bothered him more was the way Cordelia returned said look as she told the boy he was much more a man than he seemed too. Angel grimaced at that, but he knew he could get any girl he wanted and if this was just a ploy by Cordy to make him jealous, well then, two could play that game.

As Connor and Cordy went away to dance, Angel looked around the room and spotted Faith alone by the punch bowl. From her slightly rumpled appearance, Angel guessed she'd had her fun with the jock she'd been dancing with before and was now looking for fresh meat as she scanned the room just as he had been.

"Faith Lehane" he smiled to himself as he approached her. She'd go with just about any guy that asked, he knew that, though he himself had never taken a shot at her. The game was little fun when you knew you were guaranteed to win, but it would drive Cordelia nuts to see him getting up close and personal with another girl he was certain, and Faith would play along, he had no doubt.

"You're looking good tonight, Faith" he said in a low voice near her ear and Faith flinched away from him.

"Wish I could say the same, Liam" she said, with emphasis on the name she knew he despised, "I guess you don't need to keep in such good shape to keep Little Miss Old-Timer satisfied" she smirked, causing Angel to look a little stunned. No-one was supposed to know about him and Cordy, nobody at all.

"Oh come on, Angel" Faith shook her head as she drank down a glass of punch in one, happily finding someone had spiked it already, "I know people, a lot better that most since I've always been on the outside lookin' in at everybody. You and her, definitely had some groin action"

"Yeah, well, not anymore" Angel told her, glancing at the woman he so adored as she laughed and danced with his younger brother, "I'm on the market again, Faithie" he said, looking back at her, running his fingers down the length of her bare arm, "So if you're feeling... free and easy, we could...?"

"No way, man" Faith told him firmly as she took a step away from him so he had to reach to touch her again, "After the way you treated, B? I wouldn't go with you if you were the only guy here, hell I wouldn't touch you if you were the last guy breathin'!" she swore as she poured herself another drink. Angel's hand shot out and closed around her wrist, making her spill punch on the table.

"I think I could change your mind" he said in a low voice, and Faith wasn't certain whether he was going for sexy or threatening. Either way, she wasn't playing this game. She was two seconds away from flipping the guy on his back and kicking the crap out of him when she heard someone clear their throat from behind Angel.

The big idiot let go of Faith and turned around just as a fist came flying out of nowhere and caught him right between the eyes. The shock more than the force of the punch brought him to his knees and Faith couldn't help but laugh when the attacker was revealed.

"Harris?" she gasped, "What the hell, man!"

"I'm sick of guys like him" Xander said, shaking his hand that was throbbing badly from the strike, "And I heard you say no, cos of what he did to Buffy. Kinda surprised me"

"Cos you thought I was a heartless bitch and a whore?" she checked with a smirk, knowing what her rep was and not caring at all. She didn't give Xander a chance to answer her as Angel tried to see straight and scrambled to get back on his feet.

"C'mon, hero" Faith joked as she grabbed Xander's hand, "Let's get out of here before BroodBoy here starts lookin' for pay back" she said as they hurried away, "Not that I couldn't kick his ass..." she mused as she pulled him onto he dancefloor and forced his arms around her body. He'd proved himself to be a little less of a wimp than she'd thought and he looked way cute in a tux. It was unlikely he'd try anything with her and the honest truth was she was eager to see what it'd be like to have a guy around that wasn't powered purely by his animal urges. Seemed to be working out for B pretty well, after all.

"What the hell were you doing with that ho!" Cordy yelled as she stormed over to Angel. He'd only just managed to get his bearings back and was standing shakily by the buffet table, checking his face for serious damage in the back of a fake silver platter. 

"I was trying to make you see" he told Cordelia, sparing her a glance, "You were making me jealous and I wanted to get back at you!" he yelled, anger and frustration rising til he forgot where he was, the words booming out for all to here as he shouted, "For God sake Cordy, last night when we were together, you said you loved me!"

"What!" Connor gasped as he approached and Cordy put her hands to her face, this was so not how it was supposed to work out.

"You and him, you..." Connor looked at her then his brother and back as he gaped, "but you told me I was special, and we..."

"Boys" Cordelia forced a smile as she stood between the two, trying to ignore all the students that gathered around to see the show, "I didn't mean to... Angel..."

"I don't wanna hear this!" he said, looking so hurt and disgusted as he turned away.

In desperation Cordy went over to the younger boy.

"Connor, baby" she smiled, but he slapped her hand away when she reached out to him.

"Get away from me" he said, sounding almost tearful as he turned on his heel and hurried from the room.

All attention then turned to the angry Angel as he glanced around at the circle of students surrounding him. His eyes eventually settled on Spike.

"You!" he practically roared as he pointed a finger at him and stalked on over, "This is all your fault"

"What the hell...!" Buffy began only to be spoken over by the enthused Angel.

"I didn't pay you to date Buffy just so that little geek could get Dawn" Angel said angrily gesturing to where Andrew stood with his date, "and so Connor could take what was mine!" he stamped his foot like an angry eight year old girl having a tantrum, but Spike barely noticed his anger, only the shock and hurt on Buffy's face as she took in what had been said.

"What!" she gasped, hand going over her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Faith grimaced and turned away from the painful scene, feeling worse for Buffy than she thought she ever could.

Spike's pain that was directly connected to Buffy's own soon turned to anger as Angel smirked with delight. At least he'd managed to make a couple of people's nights as bad as his own.

"You son of a bitch!" the bleached blond yelled as he brought back his fist and smacked Angel in the mouth with such a force he went down for a second time. Spike immediately rushed to Buffy's side, "Buffy, luv, it's not what it sounds like, I swear" he told her but she shook her head and backed away from him. She couldn't find words enough to explain how much she was hurting, how angry she was.

"Asshole!" was all she managed to yell as she too let her fist do the talking, striking Spike across the face before running from the gym.

Andrew and Dawn who'd missed the beginning of the scene as they'd been kissing beyond the back doors, arrived at that moment, and the young brunette saw her sister fleeing from the room. Seeing Spike clutching his nose, and Angel on the floor she gasped.

"Oh God, she knows?" she checked, she was fairly certain only Buffy's finding out the truth could've caused all this.

"Yeah, she bloody knows" Spike sighed, "speaking of bloody noses..." he swore as he realised the red stuff was pouring from where Buffy had hit him. The girl really did have a hell of a right hook.

"Get out of my way, freak" Angel yelled as he got to his feet and pushed Andrew aside who happened to be blocking his way to Spike. As the bleached blond prepared for an attack, he was somewhat stunned to hear Buffy's sister yell at Liam Angelus.

"Hey!" she said poking him in the back til he turned around. Angel was much larger than Dawn and glared down at her angrily. The little girl was not at all phased. This guy had pissed her off so much and ruined what should have been her perfect night. For that he was going to pay and, thanks to her sister, Dawn knew how to make sure he did. Putting her foot between his she slammed her knee up into his groin.

"That's for pushing my date around" she yelled, putting her hands together and slamming adjoined fists into his back as he keeled over, "that's for making my sister cry!"

Spike smirked at the kid's balls, stepping up for his turn, as the poor girl shook her aching hands in pain.

"And this" he said angrily, kicking Angel in the stomach as he writhed in pain on the ground, "is for damaging the good lady's knuckles on your back, you right bastard"

"Dawn!" Connor called from the doorway. Buffy had run past him on the stairs and alerted his attention to the screaming and shouting from inside the gym. Worried that Cordy might be in trouble, no matter what she'd done, he'd ran back into the room just in time to see Dawn strike his brother down with some help from Spike.

"Stay away from me, Connor!" Dawn backed up when he came near her, clinging to Andrew's side, "God, I can't believe how gross your family is" she made a face as she glanced between Connor, his brother, and his step-mom, "I can't believe I ever wanted to go out with you"

With that she hurried from the room with Andrew holding onto her hand. Spike followed, wanting to get out of this place just as much as the other two, but mostly needing to just find Buffy and fix this mess if he could.

"Dawn!" he called behind the girl, "Let me take you two home, I need to..."  
"No" the young girl shook her head, "I'm sorry, Spike, but I don't think you should talk to Buffy yet" she told him, "She really didn't wanna come here tonight, bad memories and stuff, but we convinced her" she explained, "Now we've ruined another night for her... I think she'll need some time"

Spike nodded dumbly as Dawn and Andrew left together and he stood by himself in the empty hall, hating himself for what he'd done, and wondering if he'd ever get the chance to make things right with Buffy again.

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N : Sorry to disappoint anybody but this fic is almost over now. As anybody who has seen '10 Things...' knows, there's just a little more and then the finale. In the meantime, reviews would be of the good :-)**


	16. Happy Ever After?

**A/N : Finally, it's the finale! I hope I have done the movie of '10 Things...' proud without copying too much, and that for the most part the characters stayed in-character. I've loved writing this fic, and I'm glad so many of you have obviously enjoyed reading it. Time for some Spuffy love! Peace out!  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 16 - Happy Ever After?

Buffy sat in her room and listened to the telephone ring in the hall. She should have expected that when she turned off her cell, Spike would start calling the main phone instead. He was stubborn, he didn't give up easily, in that respect they were very similar, but Buffy knew she could hold out longer than him. He could call constantly all day if he wanted to, she would not talk to him.

Buffy hated herself for the fact she couldn't stop crying. She didn't want Spike's betrayal to have upset her so much, or at all in fact, after all she'd promised herself years ago that she'd never again let a guy get as close to her as Angel had. She wouldn't be hurt that way again, she swore, and yet here she was crying into her pillow all over again, betrayed by another man she'd loved.

Of course it made sense, stood to reason a guy would have to be paid in order to want to date her these days, she wasn't exactly Little Miss Easy-To-Get-Along-With lately, but that was deliberate. She never thought anybody would want to be near her when she behaved that way and that suited her just fine. As a general rule she had a dislike of people, their opinions, and their stupid behaviour.

"Buffy?" her sister called as she tapped on the bedroom door, "Spike called for you again" Dawn said as she opened the door a crack and look in on the blonde.

"Tell him to go jump in the river" Buffy snapped, keeping her back to her sister, not wanting her to see anymore of her tears.

"You don't mean that" Dawn said carefully as she came further into the room and stood by the bed, "I mean, I know Spike kinda did a bad thing, but... no matter how it all started out, I think it's real now. I think he really does like you Buffy" she explained.

She'd thought it was true before, but the conversation she'd just had with Spike on the phone conformed her suspicions. He was so broken over this, just like Buffy was, Dawn swore she heard tears in his voice. Yes, he'd taken money from Liam Angelus as payment to take out Buffy, but by the end, his affection seemed genuine enough. Dawn suspected her sister would not be half so angry and upset over the way she'd been played if there wasn't a distinct feeling of deja vu involved. Angel used her terribly when they dated years ago, and now Spike was hurting her just as much, though in a different way.

"If he really liked me, Dawn, he wouldn't have needed to be paid to date me" Buffy said sadly, wiping tears from her face as she sat herself up on the bed and looked over at her sister.

With a sigh, Dawn sat down beside her.

"It's not all his fault" she said guiltily, "Y'know Andrew and Xander put the idea in Angel's head... Andrew so wanted to take me out and unless you got a date there was no way..."

"I know" Buffy nodded, putting her hand over Dawn's and sighing, "I don't blame you. Okay so your boyfriend did a very stupid thing but I guess he never really meant any harm"

"He never thought you and Spike would like each other so much" the young brunette shrugged, "but I guess it doesn't matter anyway now. I can't see Andrew or anyone if you don't have a date"

"Sure you can" Buffy managed a watery smile at her sister's confused expression, "Dawnie, I know what I said about guys and only wanting one thing and stuff, and that's true of some of them, but... well, Andrew seems like a decent guy, and no matter what I think of Spike for taking money to go out with me he never... there was no advantage taken or whatever"

"That's true" Dawn nodded, "But Mom still won't let me date if you don't. Rules of the house and everything" she sighed sadly.

"Go call Andrew" Buffy told her, squeezing her hand, "Arrange to go bowling or to see a movie or whatever. When Mom gets home I'll talk to her"

"Really?" Dawn grinned, unable to hold in her joy, no matter how much her sister was still hurting, "You'd do that for me?" she checked.

"Dawnie, you're my sister" Buffy said with a smile, pushing Dawn's long brown hair over her shoulder, "No matter what happens, I'll always love you, and I'll always look out for you" she told her sincerely, "But if that boy lays a hand on you..."

"You won't have to kick his butt" Dawn interrupted, "I can so handle it"

"So you told me" Buffy smiled, "I so wish I could've seen you bring Angel down" she almost laughed at the mental image of her ex-lover dropping like a felled tree as her little sister put him in his place.

"Spike helped" Dawn reminded her, "He was so mad at Angel, I really don't think he likes him at all"

"Just a shame he liked his money" Buffy sighed, "Right now I'm somewhere between wishing I could hate Spike, and wishing I'd never found out what he did" she glanced down at the carpet for a moment and then forced the smile back on her face as she looked at Dawn.

"Hey, I thought you were gonna call Andrew, and be gone before Mom got home" she reminded her, "It'd be easier for me to explain stuff if we're alone"

Dawn nodded she understood and surprised Buffy by pulling her into a sisterly hug before darting from the room, already dialling her boyfriends number on her cellphone as she went.

* * *

When Joyce came home from the gallery she was surprised to find her eldest daughter on the couch, watching TV, and her younger girl nowhere in sight. Dawn was almost always having a DVD marathon with her friends on a Saturday afternoon, and Buffy had been locked in her room since last night, refusing to come out for any reason.

"Hey Mom" Buffy said with a half smile as her mother came into the living room, dumping her purse on the table.

"Buffy, sweetheart, are you feeling better?" she checked, "You worried me when you wouldn't come out of your room this morning"

"Yeah, sorry about that" the blonde said with a sigh, "I just... well, the dance last night didn't exactly go like I planned"

"Anything you want to talk about, honey?" Joyce checked, her mental to-do list being pushed to the back of her mind as she realised her daughter looked like she'd been crying terribly. Sometimes she felt bad for neglecting her kids so much, but as they grew up they mostly refused her offers to talk or help them out, and the gallery kept her so busy she had little free time as it was anyway.

"Yes" Buffy admitted, pointing the remote at the TV and switching it off, "Mom, it's about Dawnie, and me too actually"

"Okay" Joyce nodded as she sat in the chair opposite where her daughter was on the couch.

"See, we both met these guys and they really seemed to like us" Buffy began, mostly looking down at her own hands in her lap, "We liked them too, and when your new rule let us both date at the same time, it all seemed to work out kinda perfectly" she smiled sadly, "Last night was supposed to be the best ever, but it all went wrong"

"Buffy" Joyce said worriedly, "Did they...? Did one of them...? Oh God, did they take advantage of you, or Dawnie?" she checked, feeling sick at the very idea. Buffy was quick to put her mind at rest.

"No, Mom, nothing like that, I swear" she shook her head, "Neither Andrew or Spike are like that, I promise. There was just a situation, and, and I don't know if I'll be seeing Spike anymore" she explained, fighting tears, "but Dawn really likes Andrew and there is no reason why they shouldn't see each other Mom" Buffy told her mother, who didn't look entirely convinced.

"We had a deal, Buffy" she reminded her and the blonde nodded that she understood.

"We did" she agreed, "and it worked for a while, but Mom, we weren't in love before. I know you think maybe we're too young to know what we feel, and you worry we'll get into trouble, but we can handle ourselves"

"Maybe _you_ can, sweetie" Joyce sighed, "but Dawnie..."

"Dawnie laid a guy out last night!" Buffy said a little more loudly than she really meant too, only realising the fact when Joyce's mouth dropped open and she imitated a goldfish for a full minute.

"My little girl?" she gasped and Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, your little girl. I guess I rubbed off on her a little too much" she sighed, hating the fact that Dawn would always be more special to her mother then she was, at least that's how she saw it.

"Oh Buffy" Joyce said as she joined her on the couch and put her arm around her, "I'm glad you taught your sister to protect herself. You have no idea how much I worry about you, both of you. I swear, that's the only reason I have so many rules and things" she explained.

"I know" Buffy nodded, "I get it, I do. I know the guys in your life weren't great, and you don't want bad things to happen to me and Dawnie, but Mom, you're stopping the good things happening too" she explained, "Please don't stop Dawnie from seeing Andrew just because me and Spike are... whatever we are now"

"To be perfectly honest, Buffy, I never intended to" Joyce explained as she hugged her daughter, "I had a little visitor at the gallery this morning, it's why I was gone so long" she admitted.

"Visitor?" Buffy frowned, wondering who it could be. Surely Spike wouldn't have...

"A young Mr William Jackson came to talk to me about my daughter" Joyce smiled at the stunned depression on the blonde's face, "He didn't tell me exactly what he'd done, only that it was the biggest mistake he ever made hurting you" she explained, "I didn't want to listen to him, Buffy, I admit that, at first I wanted to kill him, knowing he hurt you, but after we talked a while, well, let's just say if I were twenty years younger..."

"Eeew, Mom" Buffy made a face but also laughed slightly at that.

"He's so very sorry, sweetheart" Joyce told her, "He told me he didn't want to break Dawn's heart too and what a good boy Andrew was. Having met him myself I'm inclined to agree he is suitable for Dawn, but I do want to have a proper talk with him before they go on any more dates" she admitted.

"Oh, well" Buffy said guiltily, "I kinda let them go out today" she told her mother, "I hoped after this talk we're having you'd be okay with it"

Joyce didn't look thrilled, but she didn't explode in a fit of yelling either, which Buffy was heartily grateful for. The older woman agreed to let them be for now, but pressed the point that she definitely would want a proper talk with Andrew Wells if he was going to be taking her littlest daughter out regularly.

"Thanks, Mom" Buffy smiled as she hugged her mother, "Dawn doesn't deserve to suffer in all this" she said as she got up and headed for the stairs.

"And you, Buffy?" Joyce called after her, "And Spike? Do you two deserve to suffer? Or can you find happiness too?"

After a moments thought the younger blonde shook her head.

"I don't know yet" she admitted, as she climbed back up the stairs to her room.

Closing her bedroom door she went over to her stereo and pressed play, not thinking about which CD was inside until it started playing. The limited edition of the Blood Lust album by Vamp Attack, the disc she had bought from Ethan's last week, the day she and Faith had sprung Spike from detention. It'd been a great day, one of the best Buffy could remember, and more tears escaped her eyes as she thought of how wrong it'd gone.

_"You're in my heart, you're in my throat, I'm drowning in you, baby,  
__You put a hole in this damn boat, and I'm drowning, oh yeah honey, I'm drowning in you"_

Devan MacLeish, lead singer of Vamp Attack, sang the lyrics to Buffy's favourite song 'Drowning in You' as she laid back on her bed and thought back to the day last week when Spike had made her feel as if she were drowning in him and all she felt when he was there beside her. When he kissed her she was young and carefree again, a silly lovesick teen, who believed in fairytales and happily ever after endings. She wanted to be that girl, the one that believed in love and that there were good people in the world that could be trusted with your heart. She only wished it were really possible.

* * *

Monday morning came too soon, and Buffy knew avoiding Spike would be much harder when they both had to share a building, even one the size of Sunnydale High. The strange thing was, he hadn't tried to call her the whole of Sunday and as mad as she'd been at him, and still was really, Buffy was somewhat disappointed to think he'd given up this easily. Surely that just proved he really was doing it for the money and now the deal was over and she was proving to be less than easy to take advantange of, he'd moved on.

The theory he was over her was quickly disproved as Buffy and Faith walked down the hall together towards the girls locker room for first period. Hearing Spike called her name, and feeling ridiculously teary at that alone, Buffy had dived through the door as fast as she could, leaving Faith to deal with the bleached blond.

"Uh-uh, hot stuff" she told him, standing in front of the door with her arms folded across her chest, "Road stops here, man"

"Faith, ask her to come out here will you, just for a minute?" Spike asked her desperately.

There was a reason why he'd given up calling Buffy after a while, he'd come up with a new plan to try to win her back and it had taken all of yesterday and most of last night to finalise it. Now he needed Buffy's attention as soon as possible if it was all going to work out, but still she wouldn't talk to him.

"No can do, Spikey" Faith shook her head, "B's still kinda pissed, and I can't say I blame her much. That scam you pulled was low. I mean, yeah, I expected that from a guy like Angelus, but you? I was actually startin' to think you were a little different" she sighed as she turned and walked into the girls locker room, letting the door slam shut behind her.

"Bugger" Spike cursed, as the bell rang overly loudly. He had somewhere to be.

* * *

Buffy was late for English class on purpose. Avoiding Spike had been easy up until last period before lunch. They both had English in the same room and the only way to avoid any kind of conversation with him was to arrive mere seconds before the class began. She managed to do so, earning herself a stern look for Miss Calendar but no lecture.

"Okay, so why do we think Romeo was so infatuated with Juliet?" Buffy heard the teacher ask as she tuned back into what was going on around her. She could feel Spike's eyes burning into her back and it was killing her knowing he was there and that he would probably quite easily catch up with her on the way out of the classroom or in the cafeteria at lunch. She could deal if she was just mad at him. One good punch would knock him into next week and then she'd feel better. The problem was only a small part of her feelings consisted of anger, the larger two emotions being hurt and love. He'd wounded her pride and her heart so badly it was like a physical pain, but what bothered Buffy more than that was the love she still felt deep inside of her for this man, despite all he had done. Given time and the right words, she knew she could easily forgive him. She had no way to hate him, he'd made her love him all too easily, even if she'd never quite admitted it to him before. As stupid as it was she believed he might love her for real too, or at least like her a great deal...

"Okay, that's good" Miss Calendar nodded as she wrote an idea from student on the chalk board, "Any other reasons for Romeo's infatuation with Juliet?" she checked.

"Yeah, maybe somebody paid him to date her" Percy West called from the back row, making several people giggle.

What had happened at the Homecoming Dance had been heard and seen by many and had soon spread to the rest of the school. Percy however was the first brave/stupid person to say anything about it in front of Buffy and Spike, two people best known for their violent behaviour.

The female half of the tempestuous former-couple was out of her seat in a second, but instead of moving towards Percy to lay him out she instead ran for the door. Those who she ran past were stunned to see what appeared to be tears in her eyes. Nobody knew she was capable of crying.

"Bloody hell" Spike cursed to himself as he too scrambled from his seat and went after her, "Wanker!" he called back at Percy as he went, and Miss Calendar tried to bring her class to order.

"Buffy!" Spike called as he ran after her down the corridor and out of the main exit. She didn't answer him, just kept moving, til she ploughed straight into a man beyond the doors.

"Out of my way!" she yelled as she tried to move around him and he wouldn't let her by.

"Yo, Spike, I thought you said this chick was a fan?" the guy asked, with a voice Buffy knew oh so well. Her eyes were wide as the Grand Canyon when she looked up and realised who she'd run into.

"Oh My God" she gasped, hand covering her mouth as she stared at Devan MacLeish, former lead singer of Vamp Attack, her all time favourite band.

"That's more the reaction I was looking for" he smiled, as Spike dared to do the same.

"Thanks for showing up, mate" he said, holding out a hand for Devan to shake, "Means a bloody lot"

"Anything for the old fans" the former popstar shrugged, "And y'know the money was a factor"

Seemed a few hundred bucks went a long way when your career had taken a turn for the worse.

"You're real, aren't you?" Buffy said eventually as she continued to gape at a man she'd adored for a long time. Though she was over her crush now she still admired him musically in a big way and it was such an honour and a huge shock to meet him in person.

"Real as, baby" he smirked, "Spike here told me what a fan you were, asked if I could drop by to say hi" he explained, "Since I was in the area and he offered to pay me, well, let's say a not small amount of cash, I figured I'd show" he said, holding out a CD to her, "Oh and this is for you, signed and everything" he pointed out as she took the disc from his hand and stared down at it. It was his debut solo album, an item she knew would not be available in the stores for another week.

"Thank you, so much" she grinned as she reached to hug him, knowing this could well be her only chance.

"Hey, don't thank me, sweetheart" Devan told her as she moved out of his arms, "Thank your boyfriend here. He must love you a lot to make all the phone calls he did to find me, and to part with all the cash he had to pay my agent"

As if on cue, one of Devan's staff leaned in to remind him he had another 'real' appointment in half an hour and that they really shouldn't be late for it. Shaking Spike's hand and kissing Buffy's cheek he turned to go, leaving the two blonde's alone.

"So luv" Spike said, giving Buffy a sideways glance, "This was sort of my way of saying I'm sorry" he told her and was glad to see her smile as she turned to face him.

"That's a pretty big apology" she admitted, "You couldn't just write another song?" she joked.

"Bigger the screw up, bigger the apology I reckon" Spike shrugged, hands in his pockets as he looked down at his feet. Buffy could hardly believe how awkward and ashamed he looked, lacking all that confidence he usually exuded. He was truly sorry, she could tell, but she couldn't find the words to say she forgave him.

"'Sides, 's not like I couldn't afford the price" Spike told her, smirking slightly, "Some right wanker paid me to take out this beautiful woman... Messed that up too, y'know" he said, looking her right in the eye, "Never thought I'd fall in love with her"

In that moment, Buffy knew she didn't need works to tell him they could work this out, she had a better way to let him know. Leaning in close she put her lips to his and kissed him. Spike wasted no time in responding and pulled her body close to his, her arms went up around his neck as the kiss went on til neither of them could breathe.

"So, we're okay now?" Spike checked, when he got his breath back.

"I guess, since y'know I kinda fell in love with you too" Buffy admitted shyly, moving her head away when Spike moved to kiss her again in response to her declaration, "but y'know you can't invite Devan MacLeish here everytime you mess up"

"I know that" Spike nodded, "but a little bird tells me there's plenty of CDs in your room. Plenty of other celebs I can call next time we have a falling out" he smirked, his lips claiming Buffy's own for a long passionate kiss before she had a chance to protest.

The End


End file.
